The Sea  Prince
by Chaseha-Wing
Summary: Have u seen the little Mermaid? Because this is a tail based off that movie, though there will be a few noticable differences. WARNING WARNING IF I GET ANY HOMOPHOBIC REVIEWS I’LL KILL ALL BECAUSE THIS IS YAOI! Don’t like, don’t read.
1. Chapter 1

**The Sea Prince**

Summery: have u seen the little Mermaid? Because this is a tail based off that movie. **WARNING WARNING IF I GET ANY HOMOPHOBIC CRAP I'LL KILL ALL BECAUSE THIS IS YAOI!!!!** Don't like, don't read. oh yes! and I don't own YYH (obviously).

**Prologue/ Chapter 1**

"2 DAYS!!! 2 miserable long days," A young prince thought as he looked down into the water. The young prince was 8 years old now and today was his birthday. However, his mother, Queen Mukuro, had a business trip that was unavoidable so now, he was stuck on a huge ship with no one to play with. Sighing, the kid looked down into the water. "I wish something interesting would happen." He muttered looking at the dark water. It was night then and the light from the ship was reflected on the water.

The kid closed his eyes, inhaling the fresh salt water. 'Nice night though.' He thought not really caring. As he cracked open his red eyes, he got his wish!

SPLASH!!! Water suddenly shot out of the ocean and hit the prince right in the face, and he started spluttering and coughing it out. "Who the"- he managed to get out before he started coughing again. He stopped when he suddenly heard giggling from the water.

Rushing over he looked closely in the water and saw a few ripples as if someone was just there a second ago; before he was hit in the face by more water.

Walking back, he heard the same voice, but this time it was laughing loudly at him. Growling he ran back to the edge and saw more ripples. Getting an idea he walked backwards before more water shot up, aimed where he was standing. Getting an idea; He went to get something quick.

In the ocean, another young boy emerged from under the water and looked up to where the other use to be. "Aww, he's gone…" he said sadly and looked down at the water. All he wanted to do was play.

And play he shall!

As he was looking down, hot water fell on his head making him straiten up in shock he looked up to see the prince laughing at him, an arm resting on an upside down bucket. Looking down, the prince gave the kid a cocky grin. "That should teach u to mess with me; Prince Hiei!" He yelled down to the kid in the water. The kid smiled himself and laughed a little behind his hand. "Oh yeah? Well, prince Hiei, if your guard have been up the first time, you wouldn't have been so easily targeted by me; Kurama the Sea prince…Well, one of them," he said and both of them started to laugh.

"W-what the hell's a sea p-prince," Hiei asked still laughing. At this Kurama stopped and grinned.

"Play with me for a while and I'll tell you." He said looking up, lovely green eyes met red. Hiei blushed slightly and nodded. Smiling the red head put his hands on the water, where it started to look like it was boiling and glowed. Hiei leaned over the railings to get a better look, when suddenly a jet of water came out and hit Hiei in the face; knocking him out of his trance. Spitting out water that got into his mouth and then he glared at the laughing red head. The water glowed again and thinking fast Hiei grabbed the bucket beside him and put it in front him. When the water went up, it hit the bucket; slightly spraying Hiei with water, and going into his bucket. After that, he threw the water back at Kurama and hit him. The 2 continued like that for 10 minutes until Kurama stopped.

"W-why a-are u st-stopping?" Hiei asked shivering. He was really starting to get cold from all the water.

"Because you look weird shivering like that, so let's stop and come down here."

Hiei was confused, how was it this kid was warm? And what was he doing in the ocean anyway. "I-I c-can't come d-d-down. It's t-to c-cold in the water f-for me." He tried to explain. "H-how c-come"-

"There's a small rock by your… thing right over there, come on." Kurama interrupted Hiei and started swimming over towards the back of the ship. Hiei fallowed from the top of the boat until he saw the rock where Kurama was waiting. Seeing a ladder down the side of the boat, Hiei climbed down, trying to avoid falling off the slippery wood.

When he was finally down, he saw Kurama resting his bare arms on the rock, smiling. "Are you gonna tell me?" Hiei asked impatient.

Kurama nodded. "I'm a prince that rules the ocean. I can also make it do a few things like you saw already."

Hiei's jaw dropped. "Th-that's im-p-posable." Hiei said shivering more and his jaw dropped more now that he got a better look at his new friend.

His in the middle of his arms he had what looked like scales in his skin that lightly shimmered in the light, his hair was an unnatural shade of red that made the water look like red around him and what the most naturalist thing of all; was his lightly green tail that was relaxing on the top of the water.

Hiei's mouth opened and closed for a while and it was Kurama who ended the silence. "Hiei-kun, I really like you. Can we be together forever one day?" He asked blushing a little.

Hiei looked at his new friend and, not knowing what else to do, nodded.

Just then a storm brewed and Hiei was now, 10 years older. Looking up he saw the ship, burning and falling apart in front of his eyes before a giant wave, carried him off the small rock. He tried to swim against the currant, but it was no use and he just kept sinking. Falling into darkness, he thought he would die... When suddenly! There was a blinding light above him and a hand grabbed his arm. Looking up weekly, he saw a figure with a long hair and lovely green eyes above him, showing worry and concern. He couldn't tell muck more for the light around the prince was too bright.

A lightning bolt streaked across the sky waking a prince from his sleep. That was the 5th time that weak he had the dream of the merchild. Rolling over in the bed, Hiei relaxed, and forced himself to fall asleep again, not knowing that 100's of feet below the ocean, another prince woke up from the same dream.

**End of Chapter 1.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Sea Prince**

**Chapter 2**

Alo, sorry for the long wait, I jhope it's to everyones liking after forcing u guys to wait so long. At least hear my excuse though. My spoprt practices, music lessons, choir and school have been keeping me away. and I have to admit, I was reading other stories as well. I'm sorry again but at least it's ready now.

I'd like to thank all my reviewers, u are all super special alsome and i loved all your advice and constructive critasim (i spelled that wrong didn't I?) I'd especially like to thank my friend, Ricogirl123 and gremice. U 2 r alsome friends and I think u 2 helped me out alot.

Now, without anymore boring lectures and thank u's IT'S TIME FOR THE FIC!!! please review afterwards, it will really make my day

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It had sunken years ago, a battle ship known as the 'Auburn Fire'. What once was a beautiful ship feared by many; had become a rotten piece of junk that could never sail again. She had many holes in her sides, and most of her windows were either cracked or broken. The sail, was surprisingly in good condition along with the main mass, but was now covered in mold. It had become home to many shell fish and creatures, just like the rest of it. This piece of junk that was once so great was the thing fascinating the red head that was behind a rock not even 200m away. He was resting his arms on it watching the ship in awe.

"Wow…it's so brilliant." He muttered under his breath.

"KURAMA!!!!" yelled a stupid and slightly high voice. Rolling his eyes, he turned around to watch a large orange carp swimming at him as fast as it could. "Damn it, Kurama, I told you not to swim so fast." The carp yelled angrily.

Kurama giggled and looked at his friend. "If I hadn't gone so fast, you probally wouldn't have fallowed me all the way here, Kuwabara-kun." Kurama explained and motioned him to look over the rock which his back was to now.

Kuwabara looked over the rock and his mouth dropped. "NO WAY!!! I'm not going in there, you can't make me." He yelled and turned to swim away. Kurama grabbed his tail quickly before he could and Kuwabara looked back at him angrily

"You're right Kuwabara kun, I was wrong to bring you here." He said sadly to his friend.

"Damn right you were wrong"-

"So, you can just swim home _**alone**_, while I'll take a look. Or watch for sharks." Kurama said smiling happily at his friend and he started playfully swimming to the ship.

Kuwabara paled at the mentioning of a shark and swam as fast as he could after Kurama. "WAIT, DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!" Kurama kept swimming slowly and watched as Kuwabara caught up then swam normally. Kuwabara gulped as they entered the ship threw on of it holes near the middle of the boat. "Hey, um Kurama," he started off getting his friends attention. Kurama looked at him but continued to swim at a normal pace. "There isn't really sharks out here is there?"

Kurama laughed loudly at that and covered his mouth with his hand. "Kuwabara you're such a gold fish." He said still giggling behind his hand.

"I AM NOT, I'm just being cautious." He mumbled. As they both went through the hole, neither noticed the giant dark figure swimming close by.

Kurama and Kuwabara swam silently through the ship. Kurama was looking for things while Kuwabara just wanted to stay close because of fear. Kurama peered through an open door, and seeing something that caught his interest; he quickly opened the door and swam in. Kuwabara swam in right after, partly closig the door behind them.

"WHY'D YOU SWIM SO FAST!!!" Kuwabara yelled at him, thinking he saw a shark. Kurama merely picked up something off the floor and examined it closely. "What's that?" Kuwabara asked his curiosity over shadowing his anger.

"No idea, but its exquisite!" He said loudly, trying to hide his excitement. Kuwabara rolled his eyes, the thing didn't look that great to him. It was in the shape of a circle with the shape of a bird carved into the metal. Looking at it closer, he noticed a silver chain dangling from a nod at the top of the circular object. Kurama also noticed and poked at the knob at the top. It suddenly opened quickly and Kurama jumped while Kuwabara swam half way across the room screaming.

Kurama was holding it away as if it would explode, then, braver then Kuwabara; he opened one eye (which closed right away when the thing opened.) to take a look of what was in the circular object.

The object in question had 12 Roman numerals going around the edges of. There where 3 different lines, on each numeral. The first was a long, thick, silver one that rested on the V (5). The second one was half the size of the first one and just as thick; it was resting between the III and II (3 and 2) almost directly in the middle. The third one though, wasn't thick or silver. It was almost as long as the first one but very thin, and it was gold. It was laying on the VIII (8). Behind all the hands though, was a miniature picture, of a pearl colored fish, in the shape of the crescent moon. There were even stars behind it.

Kurama smiled at it and looked at the cover. "Combining the sea and sky in such a beautiful way," He muttered and snapped it closed. He then put it his small back pack and looked over the room. He saw his friend hiding and shivering behind a desk in the room. Kurama swam gracefully over to him and tapped his friend's fin lightly making Kuwabara scream and turn around quickly.

"You know; in all fish in the sea, know one deserves the title gold fish more then you." He said laughing at his friends face after that.

"SHUT YA MOUTH!!!" Kuwabara hollered back making his friend laugh more. Kuwabara glared but stopped when he felt his friends reassuring hand on his back.

"However, there is no one I'd trust more in this entire ocean to watch my back, and bring along." Kurama said smiling down at his friend making Kuwabara smile.

"Thanks man, you may be a jerk but not so bad." Kuwabara responded and Kurama nodded.

"Come on; let's go before the sharks come." Kurama teased. Kuwabara rolled his eyes. (it's an anime fish, so he can do that!)

"Yeah, yeah, very fun- did you hear that." They stopped, Kurama was almost sure he heard something too. Looking around he tried to locate where it came from. The slightly cracked window in front of them was clear, the room, other then it's objects was empty, He was sure he didn't heard something over or under, soothe only place left was-

"STAY AWAY FROM THE DOOR!!!" He yelled grabbing Kuwabara and pulling him away from the exit just as a tiger shark slammed open the door just where Kuwabara was a second ago. Kuwabara paled but was in to much shock to scream. When u get so close to the teeth of a shark and live, it's often a miracle, and he saw inside its throat. Kurama swam backwards with Kuwabara close to his chest as the shark charged at them. Seeing a chair in the corner of his eye, he grabbed it and threw it in the shark's mouth. Not missing his chance he swam away towards the door while the shark was distracted and closed what was left of the door behind him.

Kuwabara finally got out of his shock when the door slammed and screamed and swam as fast as Kurama and they swam up the hallway. They heard the breaking sound from the room behind them and was sure, the shark was chasing them again. Kurama saw another room with a wide open door and swam in as fast as he could, Kuwabara following right behind him. Kurama slammed the door right behind them just as the shark hit the door. Kurama was sent backwards until he hit the other wall hard.

Kuwabara swam close to Kurama "Y-you ok?" he asked shakily as they both heard the shark hitting the door on the other side. Kurama nodded and slowly got up and rubbed his back.

"Fine, I just got the, tide knocked out of me." He said and looked around the room for an escape route and saw an open window. "Kuwabara, let's escape now before the shark gets here." He said and noticed the shark wasn't hitting the door anymore.

Quickly going to the window, he noticed he would have to push Kuwabara through, but he wouldn't have too much trouble .Kurama stuck his head out a little to make sure the shark wasn't near by. Seeing as the coast was clear he quickly swam out and motioned for Kuwabara to do the same. Kuwabara backed up a little and charged at the window… but still got stuck about half way through.

Kurama couldn't help but laugh at his friend. It was just too funny, and was the perfect way to break the tension with the shark around.

"Yeah, yeah really funny," Kuwabara said annoyed. "Now help me out before I'm eaten."

Kurama stiffened his laughter behind his hands. "Alright Kuwabara-kun, Give me your fins and suck in your stomach as much as u can." He said and grabbed his friend's fins and started to pull. Finally, after 45 seconds of nonstop pulling and (for Kuwabara) pain, Kurama finally got Kuwabara out of the window. Kurama and Kuwabara started laughing a little; that was the 4th time they escaped a shark. "And this time I didn't have to"-

Kuwabara suddenly screamed and Kurama turned and gasped. The shark was charging right at them and now they were trapped. Kurama glared and clenched his fist.

"Guess I'll have to use **it **anyway."He said and brought back his hand. The shark was getting closer now, but Kurama didn't even flinch as Kuwabara whimpered behind him. The shark was now so close now that it opened its jaws just as the water started to glow around Kurama's arm. "TAKE THIS!" Kurama yelled and thrust his now super glowing arm right at the sharks face and a giant rush of water was behind it. The glowing water not only made the shark stop swimming but the force of the water pounded it like 1000 punches and sent it flying. It went out of the water and into the far off distance, never to be seen, or heard of much of in this fanfic ever again.

Kurama was panting heavily, that was such a difficult thing to do at his age. However, he always was good at controlling the ocean; he was a sea prince after all. He was even better then most of his brothers. Kuwabara looked at Kurama with a new light.

"That…was the most kick fin, thing I've seen yet. KURAMA THAT WAS SO ALSOME!!!" He blurted out and both he and Kurama laughed. Kurama was more tired but he could still talk a little.

"Thanks Kuwabara-kun…but… I'm really exhausted…do you think you can help me to the rock?" He asked still bent over. Kuwabara nodded and went under Kurama's arm and started pulling quickly to the surface off the water to their secret spot.

"You know…you're the most useful gold fish ever." Kurama joked tiredly and started laughing as Kuwabara's eyebrow, which exists because he's an anime fish, twitched. "Shut up Kurama…" he warned but Kurama only laughed harder as they went closer to the surface.

**End of chapter 2**

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**Yay it's done. again, hoped u all liked and now please review. The gods of YYH comand it! **


	3. Chapter 3

**The Sea Prince **

**Chapter 3**

Alo again fanfiction readers! note that I'm waving at uFirst of all THANK U REVIEWERS!!! secound of all THANK U PEOPLE WHO ADDED MY FIC AS A FAVOUIRITE!!! Now is there anything else?...oh yes

Special thanks to Gerenice, and my friend Sam, who's always suporting me and listening to my ideas, may both ur fanfictions go well!

LASTLY!!!...there really isn'y lastly annything so with out any further ado-

Mrrow, I'm a kitty!

NOW WITHOUT ANY FURTHER Interuptions, on with the fic, VIVA LES IRASH!!!

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Kuwabara and Kurama got to the surface quickly enough. Once up, they slowly checked their surroundings, making sure no human ships, or other dangers were near by. As interested as Kurama was in humans, he wouldn't just go up to them in pure day light. 

"Okay, the coast is clear Kurama, so let's just see what this thing is and go back home." Kuwabara said and swam over to where a rock which was their meeting spot. It was about 3 meters long with a big rock near it. If u looked closely at the rock, u would notice a small wooden chest under it, without any kinds of locks.

Kuwabara pulled Kurama up to the island where Kurama hoisted himself up onto the rock and kept panting a little, his tail lowly moving in the water. Reaching over he pulled the chest closer to him and took off his back pack.

Kurama chuckled as he opened the chest. "Don't worry Kuwabara-kun… I'll make sure to calm your impatience by finding the thing as fast as possible, because I know how badly **you** want to find it."

"SHUT IT!!!! You know you're the only fish in the sea that likes human objects"

Kurama mealy nodded not really bothering to listen to his friend anymore. He opened the chest to reveal…books; lots of books, maps, atlas, dictionaries encyclopedias and a bunch of other books for Kurama's enjoyment. Kurama smiled and pulled out a picture dictionary and started looking for the object in question.

After flipping through pages and ignoring Kuwabara's complaints about risking their lives for small and worthless human items. Kurama finally found a similar picture of what he was looking for. Kurama had taught himself how to read along time ago and started reading the information out loud so Kuwabara could hear.

"A poke-et (pocket, but that was how he pronounced it though) watch…a device that a…allows the user to …see the time… Wow… So humans have their own ways to tell the time, what an interesting race, ne Kuwabara?" Kurama asked his friend who looked slightly bored but smiled anyway.

"Oh yeah… Those humans are great!" he said trying to pretend he was interested but failing miserably. Kurama didn't mind though, at least Kuwabara came along and didn't insult or show disgust in his interest. Like most of the people he knew.

Shaking his head and getting rid of depressing thoughts, he kept reading. "The watch works with 3 hands moving in one fashion. One moves per second, it's usually thinner then the others. A short on moves by the hours and the last and usually longest one moves by the minute." Kurama looked at the watch confused and briefly wondered how the minutes worked. Shrugging he decided he would find out later and pushed a stray lock of hair out of his eyes.

Kuwabara smiled suddenly. "Hey Kurama, if you got this thing to work, you might actually be on time for something." He said laughing and Kurama nodded and smiled.

"Ah, Kuwabara-kun, I know what time I'm supposed to be there, I just never bothering remembering until it's too late." He said and they laughed together.

"Y-you mean like that important party, your dad's important party today."

"Ex-exact…ly" Kurama and Kuwabara suddenly stopped laughing and slowly turned to look at each, other both paling. After a few tense seconds they both screamed and panicked. "HOLY SHIT YOMI IS GOING TO KILL ME!!!!" Kurama yelled and threw his books back in the chest and hurriedly pushed them under the rock again.

"I'LL BE SKINNED ALIVE!!!" Kuwabara yelled and was swimming back and forth in panic. Kurama jumped back into the water and put his back pack on again.

"L-let's just get back and hope I didn't miss my performance…again!" he moaned the last part and dived under water, Kuwabara fallowing right behind them. Quickly as they could, they swam to their home, not noticing the 2 electric eels with one glowing red eye each, watching them.

Far away, a mysterious creature was watching them. It had a mask over its mouth, and a shark like tail. The creature saw them through the eel's eyes, using a black clouded bubble that showed Kurama and Kuwabara swimming fast.

"Better swim, my sweet little prince." It mumbled and ran a smoothed, clawed hand through his hair. "You're already late for the party; an old Yomi isn't taking it so well. As if I would care, it's what he should get for banishing me, and transforming me into this hideous form!" he seethed and hit the wall, remembering how this happened.

FLASH BACK

"Karasu, you are here forth banished from the kingdom of Atlora." Yomi declared looking down at the merman, who had his hands chained and 2 guards beside him with sharp weapons. Karasu glared up at the king and 6 of his sons who were there. The youngest, wasn't aloud with them because of his age and…other details…

Karasu locked eyes with the king and glared up at them. "One day, I will make you, and your family pay for this! Mark my words, like how the oceans swallowed Atlantic, your punishment will be swift, and painful; starting with your youngest son." At that Yomi got up and aimed his trident at Karasu and sent out a blast of light at Karasu that hit him square in the chest.

The light caused tail became longer and deformed into a black, gray shark like tail. His skin changed from pearly white, to an ugly gray. He once had strait white teeth, which now changed into pointed fangs. The last part was that he gained gills on his ribs that looked like stripes. Karasu screamed in pain through most of this and many of the princes turned away.

"Get out of my sight you disgusting demon!" Yomi declared and the guards took Karasu away, terrified to touch the deformed being before them.

END FLASHBACK!

Karasu scratched the walls with his long claws making deep gashes in the stone. He was trembling with anger.

"All because I was using black magic," Karasu muttered and turned to look quickly back at the bubble with Kurama swimming in it. "However, I will get my revenge, and you will be the first to suffer, little prince. TUGUROS!!!" He suddenlyb yelled, but the eels flinched an sparked at their names being called.

"Keep an eye one the little one. He will be very useful someday." He smiled at the last part as he crack his knuckles and swiped at the bubble, tearing it to shreds, along with the image.

END CHAPTER

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YAYNESS, a plot of doom! I know I told some people that I would put Youko in the next chapter, but I didn't see his use in this chapter so I just showed the antagonest...KARASU, woot woot!

Hope u liked it anyway, so Pleeeeeeease review, It always makes me try my hardest to see reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

**The Sea Prince **

**Chapter 4**

OMG I'm sooooo sorry for taking so long. I never meant to take forever, but I had lot's of projects, and 2 tests the past week with important soccer games, I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY SORRY!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!

I know I took a while, but could you please still read this, and review. I really didn't meen to take forever. Besides, this chapter has Youko involved, and Kurama's family, pretty cool aye?

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Kurama and Kuwabara swam as fast as they could. Kurama was meters ahead of Kuwabara. 

"Kurama slow down!" Kuwabara yelled after his friend who was in a full sprint. Kurama however didn't slow down and didn't listen to Kuwabara. If anything he sped up. "Damn!" Kuwabara muttered and swam as fast as his fins would take him.

Kurama couldn't slow down. He was exerting his fin to the limit, swimming on pure adrenaline. He had often missed concerts and special event due to his… adventurous habit, and Yomi declared that if he missed another, they'd take his favorite food out of the menu. No allowance he could live wit, no hanging out with friends he was ok with, not punching one of his brothers in the face and breaking his jaw after making a crude comment about his back ground would be tough… but taking away his favorite food was simply unbearable. That's why he didn't slow down; his lunch was on the line here!

After 8 minutes of non-stop sprinting Kurama saw it, the city of Atlora, his home. He lived in the castle right in the middle of it all. Along with 6 older brothers, 246 servants, and a father he never once called dad… or father… or papa or any other family name. No he just called him by his name; Lord Yomi king of the ocean, The Sea King. (Except less formal, more like just Yomi.)

Seeing his destination, Kurama sped up ignoring his screaming muscles. _I can already hear music from this distance. I AM LATE! Note to self: get a colander. _With in 30 seconds, he was there. The castle was beautiful. It was made from pure stalagmite that that was always shining because of the crystals on it. In side was larger then any other palace in the ocean, and land. It was many a giant, beautiful stalagmite on the inside; the walls were silver, with many lovely statues and paintings. The floors were covered in pretty, yet simple decorated carpets and it had many different rooms with large hallways.

Kurama swam through the halls of the palace quickly until he saw the doors to the main ball room where the music was coming from. Slowly he peeked through the door and saw many people, talking and dancing. Many were mermen and women, but there was also fish. Kurama smiled and closed the door.

"I didn't miss it! Thank the oceans!" He muttered out loud and leaned forward on the door.

"Hn, no wonder Father is so mad at you!" An obnoxious came from behind Kurama making him jump. "No shirt, messy hair, AND late for a royal party; what kind of prince are you." It was his brother, Shishiwakumaru, the second oldest son. He was glaring down at Kurama who was panting and massaging his sides which had a horrible cramp in it.

Kurama turned around and smirked at his brother. "Is that all, I thought it was because I spent most my money on clothes and hair products, then I only had failing marks on a simple tests." He responded and made his brother flush with embarrassment and rage. "Oh wait that was you, my mistake."

"Shut up you son of a mistress whore!" Shisiwakumaru hissed and Kurama's grin was erased immediately, and in replace was a glare of death, making Shishi smirk. "Sorry did I touch a nerve, bastard child?"

Kurama's was beyond rage at that point and rushed at Shisiwakumaru as fast as he could. He would have hit him in the face… If some one hadn't grab his hand and restrained him! Standing over Kurama, holding his hand, which was merely 1 inch away from Shishiwakumaru's face, was the first born son. He like Kurama also had blood red hair, but he was more muscular and his hair was shorter.

"Ah, ye can be a re'l jerk sum times Shishi-no-baka!" Said a voice drenched in an Irish accent.

Kurama's eyes widened as he looked at his brother. "…Jin?" Jin just smiled at his little brother, not letting go.

"Ay, Kura-chan, 'you're la'e." he said simply and looked back at Shishiwakumaru who was trembling from the fist in front of him. "An you, ya nee' ta stop pickin on lil Kura-chan 'ere." He scowled. Shishi seemed to snap out of his trance when Jin scowled him and moved quickly away from the 2.

"What do you mean Jin? I was merely telling Kurama something, and he attacked me. He's a very un respectful half breed." Shishi explained and started wiping off some nonexistent dust off his shirt. Jin felt Kurama tense and looked at his little brother with comforting eyes. His trade mark smile appeared suddenly making Kurama flinch.

"One ta'ime…an' no breaken 'is teeth. Go' i'?" he said winking. Kurama blinked then smiled at his older brother.

"Alright Aniki" Jin nodded and let go of Kurama. Kurama swam right at Shishiwakumaru who was too slow to dodge the punch that landed on his cheek. Shishi went flying right into the wall. Groaning Shishiwakumaru put a hand on his cheek and glared at his youngest sibling and Jin.

"Tha'll teach ya ta pick'on Kura-chan for 'aven a diff'ren' mother then we." Jin said looking down at Shishi. It was true though. Kurama wasn't born from the actual sea queen. While she was away, his mother, Mistress Shiori and Yomi fell in love. This wasn't a lustful night between 2 people, no it was love. Once Kurama was born, there was a huge discussion on what would happen to him. Most people thought that Kurama didn't deserve to be a sea prince because of his origin; the queen was certainly against it. However, Kurama soon showed that he was quite worthy at the age of 3 and a half months, when he showed he had water control. (This is when u control water, that's how he threw away the shark.) This is a special ability that usually nobility can only have. So it was decided that once Kurama turned 5 he would be taken away from his mother, and never see her again.

When Kurama was taken away from his mom, he was almost depressed. For 2 years he hardy spoke, got the top marks in class, and barely smiled. Until for some reason when he became 7, he came home smiling, and singing. It was weird for the rest, because he was usually sad. He even started making conversations, when Jin asked what happened Kurama responded "I like someone, and we'll be together forever soon." Jin never told anyone about that and soon after started acting a little protective around Kurama.

Jin was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Kurama pulling on his arm. "Hey Jin, has the performance happened yet." Kurama asked.

"…oh yeah we 'av a perform'ance…" Jin mumbled thoughtfully. "Na tha asn't appened yet." Jin said smiling and Kurama let out a breath of relief.

Suddenly an announcement was heard through the castle. "Hello, This is a reminder that the show is about to begin. Please may all princes get to the main theater and all the extras, which means you Chu! I repeat…"

Jin sighed; he didn't want to perform in the stupid musical. Kurama wasn't too happy either, he wasn't in the actual musical play…thing but he was the opening act. Slowly they started swimming to the theater.

"A-lo Jin, Kr'ama." Said a big, deep Australian accented, merman. Smiling they both turned to see Chu carrying all the props for the show. "Whoa it's a miracle, K'rama actually remembered a party today; though ya were still la'e mate!" He said smiling and Kurama nodded and flushed a little, embarrassed.

Jin swam up next to Chu and started talking to him. It was a known fact that those 2 were best friends since child hood. It was also well known that Chu tried to flirt with Jin and liked him, but Jin unfortunately never got it. It was like he was flirt resistant. If you tried it, he just thought you were joking, and that's why those 2 weren't a couple; Jin was too dense to pick up on the language of flirt.

The 3 slowly headed to the theater Chu smiled at Jin and muttered to Jin "You know, maybe after wards we should have some…nightly activities." He purred the last part and Jin's eyes lit up.

"Ya mean li'e a slumber party?" Jin said exited.

"Well, um-"

"Thas a great idea; we can read books, tell spooky stories, 'av a pillow fight, change Risho's 'air color in 'is sleep. It'll be great." Jin interrupted Chu.

"Well, um, actually-"

"Le's do it tonight." Jin said happily and patted Chu on the back before he sped up and playfully swam to the theater which was in view now. Chu watched Jin's lovely, blue, tail and is eyebrow started to twitch.

"I love tha' mate o mine, but his density is really starting to bug me." Chu said through clenched teeth. Kurama laughed nervously and put a reassuring hand on Chu's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Jin probably likes you too, but is horrible at realizing flirting. Just go right out and tell him and I'm sure he won't mind." Kurama reassured. "You might even find yourself on top of a withering Jin that night." He said and laughed as Chu blushed.

"YOU'RE TO YOUNGE TA SPEAK LIKE THA!!" Chu yelled and nearly hit Kurama on the head but Kurama dodged and started laughing as he swam away from Chu.

Kurama swam away from Chu until he reached the doors of the theater room. Quickly he closed the door behind him and saw all his brothers getting ready. Jin (1st) was floating upside down looking at his lines, Shishiwakumaru (2nd) was putting as much makeup on as he could to hide his now purple-blue cheek, the 3rd eldest, Risho, was sitting down, calmly looking over his lines as fell, Sasuka, the 4th oldest, was glaring at the lines he had. He loathed the part he got in the musical. Touya, the 5th oldest, was trying to pronounce one of his lines that sounded like a tongue twister, and lastly Shura, who was the 6th oldest, and was rehearsing his part like he was the protagonist. When really he only had a minor part and wasn't really involved.

Shura turned to see him and waved, after he gasped. "OH MY GOD; Kurama's actually here!" he shouted and fell over. Risho, Sasuka and Touya stopped what they were doing immediately and looked at Kurama.

"There's a first for everything."

"Now I owe Jin 10 ching! Damn!"

"Hell must have frozen over, while heaven burned up."

"Okay guys I get it!" Kurama yelled at them blushing. "Just because I do miss a few of these things now and again-"

"You **_always_** miss them." Risho interrupted

"SHUT UP PUPPET NOSE! Is no reason you should be surprised."

Risho pouted and mumbled something about his nose being pretty before glaring at his lines again. Chu put down the props and swam up to Kurama. "Wha's wron' Kurama, you're us'ally no' so cold." Jin nodded from his upside down position. Kurama sighed and was about to explain why he was a little on edge but someone came in at the exact moment and started shouting.

"Okay you Sea princes, you better be in costume or else." A very sexy merman said. He had a silvery white tail that seemed to glitter like the sun on the water. His skin was very pale, and he wore a white tunic top the same color as his long hair. He was also the director, and a good friend of Shuichi. Yomi on the other hand hated him and put a curse on him because he stole 2/3rds of the oceans treasures and still hadn't given anything back, or told where he hid it.

"Okay, since Shuichi has skipped again"-

"Um, Youko"- Jin tried to say but was shut up by Youko's glare.

"Chu, you'll be …doing something for the opening act-"

"But"- Touya and Jin tried to say but Youko just kept going.

"The rest of you idiots had just better have remembered your parts by now."

"YOUKO!" everyone yelled at once.

"WHAT?" Youko yelled back and saw everyone pointed behind him all at once. Youko turned to see what was there was. Smiling sheepishly with Chu beside him pointing at his head along with everyone else, was Kurama.

"…Hi," Kurama said nervously, still smiling though. He really had no idea what else to say since Youko's draw had dropped and his eyes had gone huge and commercial. It would be hilarious if it weren't for the fact that he had to agree then he forgot more then he thought. '_Am I really this forgetful? Maybe I just don't listen enough.'_

Calmly Youko gained composure and pinched his arm. "…This really hurts…which means, YOU'RE ACTUALLY HERE SHUICHI!!!!" Youko quickly clung to Kurama, giving him the biggest back breaking hug ever. Shuichi was Youko's nickname for Kurama because they both had the same first name.

"Ow ow ow ow ow," Kurama said loudly when he felt so much pressure on his back, there was already a bruise forming from earlier when he hit his back. Youko quickly let go and took a look at the youngest prince.

"Okay, your hairs a mess, you're not in costume, and there's a bruise on your back. So Shuichi, let me say this as calmly as possible, IF YOUR GOING TO SHOW UP PLEASE AT LEAST BE WEARING A DAMN SHIRT!!!"

"Sorry Youko!" Kurama said and coward behind Chu. Youko could be really scary at times.

"Don't worry alls not lost, and, you 3." He yelled pointing at Touya, Shura and Sasuka. "You guys know your parts, so quickly give Shuichi a makeover before 5 minutes while I get his music ready." Youko directed and turned away, so he didn't notice the evil grins his brother gave each other as they slowly turned to Kurama making him hide behind Chu again.

"Please save me." He whimpered but Chu shook his head 'no.'

"This is wah you deserve for saying those words ta me earlier." Chu responded and smirked as Kurama's face dropped.

"I was better off just forgetting," he mumbled before he was grabbed by his brothers.

"Time to pay the consequences for being late little brother" Sasuka said smiling evilly.

""I've always wanted to put your hair in a certain style." Touya grinned while taking a lock of red hair and playfully twirled it.

"Time to properly shine your scales," Shura's eyes shined with evil. Kurama watched all three of his brothers in a terrified matter before the three pulled his arms harshly and forced him into the back room. The others in the room stopped what they were doing when they heard the door slam.

"HELP, WHAT YOU ARE DOING WITH THAT-OW, NOT SO HARD!" They heard Kurama scream.

"HOLD HIM DOWN SO I CAN GET HIS HAIR THE WAY I WANT IT!"

"YES SIR TOUYA!" the other 2 brothers answered. Jin looked wide eyed at the door at that; there was a slamming noise and a couple of "ow"s coming from Kurama. The distant sound of a brush could be heard.

"THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH TOUYA, LET ME GET HIS COSTUME ON"- Came Sasuka's voice but it was interrupted by Shura's.

"NO, SHINING FIRST!"

"Okay you have a point there; the tail would be harder to shine with things covering it."

"JUST LEMME GO!"

"NO!" Three voices followed Shuichi. Shishiwakumaru smirked hearing how annoyed and scared Kurama sounded. '_That'll teach him for punching my wonderful face_.' He thought satisfied and he continued applying makeup on his face.

There was a scrubbing sound and more ow's from Kurama from behind the door and Risho subconsciously hug his arms where his purple, almost black scales were.

"Okay, now we put on his out fit, and I have the perfect one, just let me get it from the closet." Came Sasuka's voice and he exited the room and started rummaging through a closet near Shishiwakumaru. Suddenly he saw something covered by a bag and read the tag. "Here it is." He mumbled before going back in the room and he slammed the door shut right behind him. "NOW LET'S PUT IT ON KURAMA!"

"I can at least put a shirt…WHAT IS THAT!!!?"

"It's your costume, what else?"

"Bu-but it's s-so"-

"Let's just put it on him." Shura's voice came.

"Yes, let's do that." Touya's voice came next with some evil in it.

"Wait-NOOOO!" Kurama yelled before his voice was muffled. Chu started shaking; maybe he had gone too far for punishing Kurama.

The door opened slowly after 30 seconds of silence, revealing 3 smiling brothers. "Okay, we now are now done; welcome our new and improved little brother, Kurama the sea prince." They all said at once and moved away at once revealing Kurama. His flaming hair was tied back into 3 small tight buns at the back of his head, 2 neat ones were beside each other with one directly over the middle of the other 2 (like a triangle) with some hair purposely coming out around the bun to frame it, his bangs were mostly over his right eye, somehow Touya made them look slightly longer with bead things in them, the rest was clammy moved towards his left ear. His scales were shined more then usual, making his scales on his arm blended nicely into his skin shine brighter, while making his green tail glitter. The outfit which he was forced to wear, was a very pale green, almost white, with red, thick trimming. The sleeves were the most different and noticeable things however, they were long and spread out (like kimono sleeves) and there was a red cloth like thing that wrapped around the sleeves eloquently. They wrapped around the sleeves like graceful snakes, not tightening them, nor loosening, going up the arms, around his neck, and down the other arm.

Jin whistled while Risho smiled. "We-hoo, Kura-Chan, ya look prettier den a star fishy." said Jin. Chu and Risho nodded but Shishiwakumaru glared at his brother before turning his back on him and putting on more make up.

'_Damn it, he's hotter then me, vein bastard_.' Shishi thought angrily. Youko came in a second later.

"Okay are we…we…wow!" he muttered as he saw Kurama. '_My god that kid is sexy, best be careful, if I slack and start eating more, he'll be hotter then me. I can't have that_.' Youko thought and smiled. "SHU-CHAN YOUR SOOO CUTE!" he squealed and glomped his friend again making Kurama blush more then he was already.

"Um…do I have to wear my hair like this?" he mumbled when he could pull away from Youko. Everyone nodded and Touya grabbed his arms and forced his to look him in the eye.

"You take out your hair out and I'll hurt you!" Touya threatened and Kurama only nodded and trembled a little. It seemed like everyone had to glare at him today. '_Why didn't I just forget like usual?' _Kurama thought scared.

"Okay, enough threatening Shuichi," Youko said and put an arm over Kurama's shoulder and Touya backed off. "It's time for him to sing, are you ready Kurama?" he asked gently. Kurama smirked and looked into Youko's eyes.

"Of course, there has to be at least one good act in this performance." Kurama said, making Chu and Jin laugh while the others said "HEY!" at once, but Youko grinned back.

"Then get on stage you little pain." He said playfully pushing Kurama forward and Youko followed behind. Jin and Chu yelled 'good lucks' and 'do goods' with a few 'you'll do fines' here and there until Kurama and Youko were out of sight. Youko looked at Shuichi and noticed that he was more nervous now that he was away from his brothers. "Hey, Shu-chan." He whispered making Kurama jump and turn to him.

"Yes Youko?" He whispered back.

"I changed the song at the last moment, it's the one your mother sang to you." He told him. At first Kurama's expression was shocked, but it turned quickly to a beautiful smile.

"Thank you Youko." He said and gave Youko a one armed hug which Youko didn't return, but he did pat Kurama's head.

"Yea, yea kid, now just do good out there, deal?" Kurama nodded and let go and started swimming to the stage while Youko took a different direction to wards the main ball room. Kurama calmly waited behind the giant curtain of the theater, and waited for Youko, plus the castle guests to arrive.

Youko quickly headed to the main ball room where all the people were and opened the door. Clearing his voice a little he got everyone's attention. "OI IMPORTANT PEOPLE, LISTEN UP!" that's how. "THE OPENING ACT FOR THE CONCERT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN, SO GET PLEASE START SWIMMING TOWARDS THE MAIN THEATURE NOW, OR MISS OUT ON THE YOUNGEST SON, PRINCE KURAMA'S" he emphasized Kurama's name to get everyone's attention-"LOVLY SINGING VOICE, Thank you." He said the last part and bowed. All the people in the room started heading to wards the theater mumbling about Youko's obnoxious attitude. Youko was smiling as he heard the 'feedback' on his little speech. '_I love it when they complain, that makes Yomi look bad_.' Youko grinned at the last part. A hand tapped his shoulder making him look strait in the face of Yomi. '_Oh crap_!'

"Interesting little way to tell everyone about the show," the king said smiling. Youko smirked.

"It's the only way to make sure the crowd here's me, Yomi." Youko said glaring.

"Is it, well then, have fun directing the show, in a less… attention getting way." He said and smirked as Youko twitched in pain. Youko suddenly collapsed on the ground hugging his arms, slowly; he transformed into a white crab, and started panting. This was the curse Yomi had put over him, whenever he willed it, Youko would be transformed into a crab, or when he lied to Yomi. If Youko wished he could turn into a crab himself but he hardly did that. Smiling over the white crab, Yomi smirked, "hope the musical goes well." He said and swam away. Youko got up on his now 6 legs and glared after Yomi.

"I'll get him for this one day." Youko muttered.

"Hey Youko," Someone yelled at him from behind Youko making him jump.

"Kuwabara, I swear I would kill you if you weren't one of Shuichi's friends." He said turning around to glare at the carp. Kuwabara was wearing a tie, and caring a tray of dirty dishes on his back, but he was still smiling.

"Yea, what ever, snippy," Kuwabara resorted, making Youko clip his claws twice in annoyance. "Any way, would you like a lift; it'll be faster if I help you." Youko glared at him for a moment before he sighed.

"Fine, what ever gold fish"-

"I'M A CARP!"

"I'll accept your assistance for today." Youko continued like he never heard Kuwabara's out burst. Kuwabara mumbled but went close to Youko so he could jump on. Soon the 2 were heading towards the theater, while bickering all the way to the entrance. Kuwabara took Youko all the way to his composing seat. Youko got off the carp, remembering to pinch Kuwabara's unusually puffy fin making him flinch and yelp. With a satisfied grin he slid off, and watched Kuwabara swim away, mumbling about his poor fin. 'That's what he get's for making that snippy comment earlier.' Youko thought satisfied. Raising a baton with his clawed hand, the band suddenly stopped.

"Welcome one and all you rich"- Youko heard a 'ahem' from Yomi who was sitting very close to his seat and was giving him the 'don't you dare' look. "I mean, charming guests, welcome to the musical of, the sinking of Antlantic, performed by the 6 elder sea princes, and an extra…that means you Chu. (suddenly, in the waiting room, Chu sneezed and his eyebrow twitched, 'ah feel like some jerk is talkin abou' me.') However, before the musical starts, there will be an opening act, performed by the youngest sea prince, Shu-I mean Kurama." He quickly corrected himself. "Who still better be on the stage when this bloody curtain opens?" He added putting a bit of threatening in his voice. Yomi hit his head with his hand and sighed.

'_I really that crab_!' Yomi thought.

Behind the curtain Kurama had a sweat drop behind his head and was smiling nervously, '_I'm not that bad…am I_?' he thought. Suddenly he heard the music start and the crowd quieting down. 'Time to start' he thought and quickly composed himself as the curtains raised. When the light hit him, his eyes were closed, and his face was very calm, as if asleep. But he started to sing beautifully.

"_If you are lost in your way,_

_Deep in an awesome story."_

Kurama started separating his arms, bringing them from the middle of his chest to they were holding out on his sides, a stream off blue light trailing his hands.

"_Don't; be at doubt and stray,_

_Cling to your lonesome body."_

Kurama wrapped his arms around him slowly, and the glowing water that was following his hands, seconds ago, stopped and started making a circle around him.

"_Now; you're to close to the pain, _

_Let all the rain go further."_

Kurama uncrossed his hands and again as he raised one hand and lowered the other, glowing blue water followed his finger tips.

"_Come, back and kiss me again,_

_Mother oh do not bother."_

Again the new glowing water went into a circle while Kurama brought his hands down to his sides.

"_Here now; poor it a pain,_

_Taking you back to proper ways."_

Kurama seemed to gracefully lash diagonally while his fingers dragged the glowing streams, and when his arm was stretched as it could go, glitter seemed to go out of his hands.

"_It's so easy to find,_

_If you could remind me."_

Kurama slowly raised both hands; there were 4 circles around his, one diagonal, 1 horizontal, and 2 diagonal going in opposite directions. They all met in the middle though, in front of Kurama's stomach.

"_Now, you are lost in your way, _

_Deep in an awesome story"-_

The glitter Kurama made earlier seemed to float all around the blue glowing circles that were now moving. Suddenly Kurama's eyes opened wide and the light was shining off his determined green orbs.

"_So; I will find you again,_

_Kiss you for lonesome bolly."_

Suddenly the circles seemed to explode in a unique light and when the people opened there eyes again, they all gasped in aw. There were no more circles, but the entire stage turned navy blue with hundreds of glowing spots that looked like stars, and Kurama was now dancing in the space, carefully avoiding all stars, gracefully and in a delinquent matter. And the song started again, more powerfully then before.

_If you are lost in your way,_

_Deep in an awesome story._

_Don't; be in doubt and stray,_

_Cling to your lonesome body_

_Now; you're to close to the pain, _

_Let all the rain go further._

_Come, back and kiss me again,_

_Mother oh do not bother._

_Here now; poor it a pain,_

_Taking you back to proper ways._

_It's so easy to find,_

_If you could remind me._

_Now, you are lost in your way, _

_Deep in an awesome story_

_So; I will find you again,_

_Kiss you for lonesome bolly."_

In the last line, Kurama went to his original, place and hugged his arms again when suddenly the stars made an extremely large amount of light, and when it calmed down, Kurama had vanished, along with the stars and the navy blue back ground.

Youko got up and bowed, to the crowd who did a tremendous applause. Yomi smirked but noticed that Kurama hadn't came back to bow. Youko also noticed and put his baton down and he cleared his throat again. "Excuse me ladies and gentle fish, there will be a 5 minute break until the play, during that time, there will be food and refreshments given out. Excuse me." He said last part and started swimming best he could towards the stage. Yomi watched the crab go and sighed, he was worried about his son.

Youko quickly swam around the curtains and saw Kurama sitting against the curtains panting, while sweat was mixing in with the water around him. "Shuichi," Youko yelled and swam over quickly to Kurama.

Slowly Kurama opened his eye and smiled at the worried crab in front of him. "Sorry…Youko…Kun. I'm just…really…really…exhausted because I…I… already used a lot of power today…I'm okay just…just really…really….ti-…red…" Kurama said slowly and his eyes finally dropped and he felled asleep right there, and his hair came free of his tight buns, and started floating around his face. Youko sighed, and went to get Chu and the other princes. He would have tried to move Kurama himself but he knew he couldn't do it while he was a crab. So he was going to get Chu to move him, allowing Kurama to have the same dream he had, for the last 5 days that week.

* * *

Okay that's it for now, if ypou still read this, I beg yu to review. 


	5. Warning, I'm seriouse

Hello, First Off this isn't another Chapter, and Second, I wish for u to read this because this is a **warning.**

Recently I have aloud people who don't have an account to read review my fanfic because It sucked when I didn't have an account and I wanted to review. Eventually it lead me to getting an account, and writing this story. I'd like to thank all the people who have reviewed so far, ecspecially Gremenice.

But there has been one problem, I don't mind being told to hurry up or little things u want from here to there. But someone threatened me with rape in the comments and I will not have that! If that ever happens again, I will make will not update for 6 months, unless I recieve an apology to me,and the rest of the reviewers, andI will no longer have anomanes reviews. Thank u and I'm sorry for the inconvies, I'll hurry up with the next Chapter as soon as possible.


	6. Chapter 5

**The Sea Prince Chapter 5**

Yay I'm back, I'm sorry if I kept u guys waiting so long. but the next chapter is done. I thank all the people who wrote to me to either tell me to ignore the people, or conforting me. It was really nice of u and I'm really grateful.I even liked the reviews that just told me to update, those deffenetly made me move, lol.

ok, thanks for stayin by me and my fic, by the way, for a reminder, I don't own YYH. I hope u enjoy the next chappy bows

* * *

A young merchild was swimming slowly threw the ocean waters alone. He was so lonely, sad, depressed. At any moment he would feel happy if something just swooped down and ate him up. Sadly he looked up, his short red hair surrounding his head following the tides. '_I wish something interesting would happen.' _He thought. 

Strangely at that moment, the light was suddenly blocked off. Flinching, the kid looked up; seeing something huge floating on top the waters surface, "what in the waters?" The kid mumbled and started heading towards the thing. He swam up one of the sides and saw the most peculiar thing in his life.

There was a boy high on top of the side of the wooden vessel. He, like Kurama seemed alone, but unlike the merchild, his guard was down. "Sweet a surface dweller," he nearly squealed. He hardly played with anyone fun under water, but you never know, maybe surface children were more entertaining then the merchildren his father told him to play with.

Slowly, he sneaked towards the kid, which was easy now since that the floating device had stopped moving. Looking up he saw the kid's eyes close and he silently swam up to the surface. It was the first time he had even partly got out of water… he liked it. The wind was hitting his hair and skin, making it good nice with the water running off him. He was able to see the moon clearly, and he saw what the water surface looked liked. Getting back on topic with the boy, he put his hands on top of the water, '_target locked and ready for firing.' _He thought grinning. He saw the kid's eyes start to open, '_Okay, FIRE!'_ He thought and the water bubbled under his hands and shot up at the boy. The kid's eyes widened in shock and he started coughing out water once the he was hit in the face. The merchild couldn't help but start giggling. The other boy's reaction was just so funny.

The other seemed to hear him and ran to find him. '_ABORT_!' The merboy thought and hid under water. While the other child was trying to find him Kurama smirked and decided to try the same trick twice. The second shot hit the young boy's face again and Kurama started laughing harder. His third shot went but it missed and the kid seemed to disappear. The merchild resurfaced and felt terrible. "Aww, he's gone…" he sighed, he must have been so mean that the kid left, and all he really wanted to do was play. He never expected to feel hot water slam upon his head.

The merchild jumped in shock and pain, THAT WAS HOT WATER! '_Ow, I deserved that,' _The kid thought when he suddenly heard laughter. Looking up, he saw the boy with gravity defiant black hair, with a white star burst in the middle, laughing at him. Calming down the boy smirked and looked down at the merchild.

"That should teach u to mess with me; Prince Hiei!" Hiei said arrogantly making the merchild smile.

'_Hiei, that's an unusual name, but very nice. I like it, it suits him.' _Kurama thought before replying, "Oh yeah? Well, prince Hiei, if your guard have been up the first time, you wouldn't have been so easily targeted by me; Kurama the Sea prince…Well, one of them," It was strange; Kurama had never been so proud saying his title until now. They both erupted in laughter, both knowing full well that they sounded like a bunch spoiled pricks but they couldn't help it. After wards, they had a water fight, and Kurama invited Hiei down onto a rock (you know the details, if you don't you've been skipping chapters, GET BACK TO CHAPPY 1 YOU SKIPPERS… you people probably r thinking, GET ON WITH IT, So ya…sorry.)

Kurama explained to Hiei what a Sea prince was and watched Hiei's mouth drop._ 'He's so cute, and I've never been this happy with any other kid…I think I really like him.' _Kurama started blushing considering what he was about to ask. "Hiei-kun, I really like you. Can we be together forever one day?" Hiei nodded his head making Kurama feel better for a long time. Like he did before he was taken away from his mom. After 2 long years of sadness, he finally showed his true smile to this boy Hiei, making the young prince blush.

"You know," Hiei started off grabbing Kurama's attention. "I'm…not a human, I'm a fire demon, see check out my fangs." Hiei said and opened his mouth showing Kurama his 2 pearly white fangs. Kurama was in aw, he heard of demons but had never actually seen one. Looking at each other Hiei smirked, "Since we'll be together one day, you can be my mate, okay?" Hiei said winking at Kurama, making him blush.

"M-maybe…maybe one day," Kurama said turning scarlet, Hiei nodded. They would see what would happen in time.

Again, it was 10 years later and Kurama was clinging to a different rock watching a ship burn down. He saw a young man fall into the water and couldn't get back out. Kurama had the strong erg to save this man, no matter what. Junping fast into the water he swam through the heavy tides and currents to get to the man who was drowning. The man was surrounded in darkness so Kurama couldn't see his face. Grabbing his hand, he pulled him out of the water, when suddenly there were hands on his neck and a voice whispered into his ear.

"Little prince, you will be mine." Turning around Kurama saw the most terrifying glowing eyes looking back at his; the rest of the man was covered in darkness, making him even more terrifying. Kurama tried to pull away but couldn't. Suddenly the man who he had just saved pulled his hand and took him away from the glowing eyed creature, and safely into the man's muscular chest. The man wrapped his arms around Kurama and took him away from the creature.

"I will protect you."

Kurama awoke from his dream when a bolt of lightning flashed through the room. Kurama was scared of thunder and lightning more then anything else. He was now in his bedroom now, someone must have moved him while he was in his sleep. Another bolt was heard making Kurama hide in a cupboard in his room, where he could try to hide from the lightning. But he couldn't hide from the 2 red eyes watching him from his window, the eyes of 2 electric eels; the reflections of the eyes from a nightmare.

* * *

It was 2 hours after the storm and at a dock yard, a ship was getting ready to cast off. As the crew got ready, one man with gelled back hair was running around the boat calling for his boss. "Oi anyone see Hiei?" He yelled out to the ship members all at once. Most stopped for a moment to shake their heads. "WELL THAT'S NOT SURPRIZING, IT'S VERY HARD TO FIND THE _**LITTLE LORD. **_I mean he's like, 4 foot nothing, wears black. You can mistake him for your shadow if you're not careful, just like his name sug-WAAAAH!" 

SPLASH!!!

Poor Yusuke Urameshi had just been literally kicked off by the young prince Hiei. He had just been helping with the sails because he didn't trust the crew, when he heard Yusuke's preaching. Getting pissed off the prince swung down from the sails with one loose rope and kicked Yusuke off the ship. Most of the crew started laughing their heads off at that. Calmly Hiei started to approach the captain. "Just take off; he'll catch up eventually." Hiei ordered and went to the side of the boat. He smirked when he saw Yusuke spluttering and yelling curses at him from the water. "Detective, if you do not get back on this boat now we will leave you." Hiei called out.

"DAMN YOU HIEI, JUST WAIT A SECOND!" Yusuke yelled back and went up to the ladder on the side of the boat. Hiei watched amused as Yusuke slowly went up the side of a moving ship, cursing the whole way. Finally after non stop cursing and yelling Yusuke finally finished climbing the side of the ship.

Yusuke started panting and he slid to the ground. "Stupid, fucking…Prince with his…damn…stupid smirk and his…DAMN IT HIEI JUST STOP SMIRKING." Yusuke yelled at the prince who was amused by his advisors behavior. Though Hiei would never admit it, he felt as though Yusuke was one of his best friends, but that didn't stop him from punishing him when he pissed him off. Besides, he never did more then Yusuke could handle…most of the time. "Any way Hiei, why did we leave the princess's land so quickly? We were supposed to stay there for 3 days. WE STAYED ONE!" Yusuke yelled again remembering that Hiei was meant to look for possible mates. Queen Mukuro strictly ordered Hiei to find _**SOME ONE **_he would like and consider mating them. Instead, Hiei spent an hour talking to the princess Juri, and left her as soon as he could. They couldn't leave the land however until the storm that appeared cleared up. However now that it passed, nothing would stop Hiei from getting off the island the princess lived on.

"I left because that woman annoyed me." Hiei answered simply crossing his arms over his chest. "Besides…I don't want a mate, there's no one for me." Hiei said looking away, not allowing emotion into his voice. Yusuke got up and glared down at Hiei.

"That's bull Hiei!" Yusuke said raising his voice. "Listen Hiei, I don't care if your ad-"

Hiei glared at him, effectively shutting him up. "Yusuke, just go help the crew," Hiei muttered. Yusuke watched his friend just flicker off.

'_Damn that demon's fast!' _Yusuke thought scratching his head. After a minute, he noticed he was completely dry. Hiei must have secretly raised the temperature enough to dry him. Laughing a little Yusuke went to help the crew as he was told. '_Hiei's still wrong, he's just waiting for someone who isn't a complete bastard.'_ Suddenly he saw his bird…thing fly at him screaming, "PU!" he yelled in shock as he chased after the bird, "GET BACK HERE YOU FLYING PENGUIN!" The bird just flew away from him and distracted the members of the ship.

Hiei watched from the top of the ships sails. His thoughts changed as he looked at the sea, '_this is stupid, I'll never find a mate…I don't need a mate…No one needs me.' _Hiei thought and closed his eyes; it would be a long trip back to his home in Alaric. '_Yusuke needs to get control of that stupid bird,_' was his final thought as he fell asleep leaning against the sail. Hiei had no idea about the assassins on board who sought his life.

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sind along voice cliiiiff haaanger! Sweet, here's Hiei again, the PRINCE of this story. which should have obviouse in the first chapter. Any way, I only enphansised that to annoy those people who threatend me in the reviews. However, thank u for your advise good reviewers and constuctive critasisers, it really got me writing faster. I'm sorry if the chapter is to short, but I'm pretty sure there will be more on my next chapter. 


	7. Chapter 6

**The Sea Prince**

**Chapter 6**

Alo good to see you all again, I fianlly finished another chapter. However I feel as though somethings missing in this chapter, can u tell me what u think. I wanted to add more but I decided to leave it to the next chapter. Anyway thank u people for all ur reviews I really loved them. Well seeya later, please njoy (bow)

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Kurama was in his secret hiding place, it had been 6 hours after the storm earlier, but only 5 after his and Yomi's big fight. However, Kurama felt he would be pissed off at the king for all eternity. Kuwabara, who was the only one who knew the where abouts of the hiding spot, was trying to calm his friend. But so far was getting no response. Kurama just continued to glare up at the one small hole in his hiding spot above him, thinking about the fight. 

**: FLASH BACK:**

It had been 1 hour after the storm when Kurama calmed down enough to come out of his closet. Wearing just a plain green t-shirt, he swam out his room to see if the party was still on, only to find that it had been over since yesterday. That was when Kuwabara approached him telling him that Yomi wanted to see him in his chambers.

"Yeah know man; this wouldn't happen if we were actually on time for once." Kuwabara said as they swam to Yomi's chambers. Kurama just sighed and nodded.

"I know, but I usually remember stuff that's important like tests, school projects, and government issues, but I just see no point in remembering such tiny things like parties or little get togethers. It only gives people to talk about my mother or make plans for suitors to mate me. In any case, it seems pointless to someone like me." Kurama explained thinking about all the times when he use to be on time.

Kuwabara nodded solemnly, "and all I do is serve drinks and food for royal pricks that see me as a slave. Man your right, parties suck." Kuwabara said, making Kurama smile until they reached the outside of Yomi's work chambers.

"After you Kuwabara," Kurama said smiling cheerfully. Kuwabara roughly shook his head 'no.'

"No way man, he called for you, so you go first, and I'll wait out here for moral support." Kuwabara said.

Kurama nodded and opened the door, after that he grabbed Kuwabara and pushed him in and closed the door behind them. Kuwabara was about to yell at Kurama who smiled nervously when they heard a "ahem," making them both turn. Yomi was sitting at his desk wearing a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Hello my son, Kuwabara, what might you be in here for." Kuwabara's couldn't speak, what do you say to a man who handles your pay check, and your life? His eyes traveled towards the trident beside Yomi.

"He's here as my defense, Yomi." Kurama answered for him. Kuwabara looked shocked at how calm Kurama sounded during such a situation. Yomi nodded and turned his attention back to Kuwabara for a moment.

"Very well Kuwabara, can you please wait beside the crab," Yomi motioned towards the wall. Kurama and Kuwabara looked shocked to see Youko back in his normal form leaning against the wall. His eyes were closed but you could almost see a darkness aura flowing around him. Swallowing hard, Kurama tried to speak to enraged merman

"Um…Youko…" Kurama started tensely. All of a sudden Youko's eyes shot open and he was terrifying. Kurama jumped for a moment when the cold golden piercing eyes landed on him. They softened after a second and a huge smile went upon Youko's face.

"Shuichi, how great to see you," Youko started happily and swam over to shake the young man's hand. "Did you know how much an ass your father is? I mean, he's been questioning me about my treasured items all day, and I feel very sad." Youko wined and glomped Kurama and smirked at Yomi who was glaring death at him. _'Oooh, annoying the bitchy king makes me feel sooo much better, and I get to hug little Shuichi. My life is good.'_

"Youko, do you not believe that you are too old for this kind of behavior." Yomi asked kindly but Youko and Kurama understood. '**Let go of my son or I'll hurt you**,' was what he really meant. "Now please unhand my son, and you'll be free to go after my son's and my little chat." '**I'll finish with you later**,' was the other translation.

Calmly Youko let go and gave a comforting squeeze on Kurama's shoulder before he swam to the side with Kuwabara._** '****So what are you in for?'** _Youko asked Kuwabara telepathically making Kuwabara flinch.

_**'****I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STOP DOING THAT**!" _Kuwabara thought back. Youko learned how to invade how to enter and speak in peoples minds when he was still a thief. This ability usually takes 200 years to master, and Youko had mastered it 500 years ago. Despite his looks, Youko was actually 1000 years old, and often used this technique on Kuwabara.

'_I don't care, now answer the question.'_ Youko responded and watched Yomi sit down while Kurama straitened up.

'_I was dragged in by the prisoner,' _Kuwabara responded making Youko almost laugh. '_Same little Shuichi…'_ Kurama had a habit ever since he was little to bring someone with him when he got into trouble. It helped him knowing that someone was there to talk to him right after, and maybe comfort him later. It use to be Youko only, but he was now also depending on Kuwabara more often as well.

"So, my son, care to explain why you were late for yesterdays royal party?" Yomi asked. Kurama stood his ground and didn't even flinch. "Do you even remember what the party was about?" Yomi asked calmly but his pleasant smile was slipping from his face. Calmly Kurama shook his head 'no.' wondering why it could be of any importance. "It was a party celebrating your brother Shura's birthday." Yomi announced making Kurama finally flinch.

'_I forgot my brother's own birthday? No wait, I remembering giving him a gift 2 days ago so I wouldn't forget…wait a moment…' _"Yomi, wasn't Shura's birthday 2 days ago? I remember giving him birthday bumps with Jin…I mean; celebrating it…in a positive way… that didn't involve hitting in anyway." Kurama thought quickly smiling nervously. Youko and Kuwabara hit their heads with there hands/fins in union. Kurama was usually a better liar then that. It was always the small things he was bad at lying about, but for some reason when it came to really big things, he could lie like no others. Even Youko was impressed with Kurama's poker face, though Yomi always said it was nothing to be proud of.

Yomi's eye also twitched but he answered the question. "Yes it was, but we decided to celebrate yesterday due to a meeting I had with the general of the Caribbean waters." Yomi responded and Kurama nodded, he vaguely remembered something being mentioned about that during dinner the week before. However he was too busy savoring every last bite of his dessert to really pay attention.

'_Oops, I owe Shura an apology…then again; he, Touya, and Sasuka already had their revenge.' _Kurama thought and looked at his father, "On the positive side Yomi, I did actually show up. Besides, there was a good reason why my friend and I were late." Kurama said smiling. The lord raised a brow.

"Oh, and that reason may be what" Yomi asked forcefully. He had lost patience with his son a long time ago.

"To put it simply, both me and my friend was attacked by a shark." Kurama said calmly, making Youko fall over and Yomi's head hit the desk.

"CAN'T YOU THINK OF ANY BETTER EXCUSE?" both Yomi and Youko yelled at once. Kurama just calmly shook his head.

"HEY IT'S THE TRUTH!" Kuwabara yelled at the 2 getting everyone's attention. Kuwabara swallowed a lump in his throat, why did he have to speak up. "Well, um you see…there was this…aaah, shark which…um wa-was a t-tiger shark. Yeah, and it nearly ATE ME. TWICE! It would have if it weren't for Kurama. In fact, that shark is responsible for that bruise on Kurama's back." Kuwabara said and pointed to Kurama. Yomi nodded and Youko smiled.

"So that wasn't there from…other reasons, excellent." Youko smirked as he said making Kurama look confused as he tilted his head to one side while making Kuwabara cough and Yomi slam his fist on the table.

"Get your mind out of the air and back into the sea!" Yomi yelled growling and Youko just shrugged and went back to leaning on the wall. "By the way Kuwabara, how did that shark caused that bruise on my son's back?" Yomi asked smiling

"Oh, well, while me and Kurama were swimming for our lives down in that boat, we went into a room and as Kurama closed a door as the shark hit it and Kurama went flying." Kuwabara explained more calmly then before. Kurama hit his head though with his hand and kept mouthing 'SHUT UP, STOP' while waving his arms franticly. Kuwabara wonder briefly what he could have said before Yomi nodding and turned towards his youngest son. Kurama stopped and regained his calm mask, but Yomi started to glare at Kurama.

"What in the waters were you doing on a human ship?" Yomi raised his voice. Kurama's arm flinched; Yomi had caught his friend's slip up. "WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN THERE FOR YOUR INTERTAINMENT? WHY WERE YOU EXPLORING A HUMAN CONTRAPTION WHEN YOU HAD SOMEWHERE ELSE TO BE?" Yomi hollered at his son. Kurama started rubbing his left arm with his right, an old habit he picked up long ago.

"Well…I wasn't listening to your announcement at dinner the night before the party, so I forgot quickly…and um…"

"SO WHY WERE YOU ON A HUMAN SHIP?" Yomi yelled again. Yomi hated anything to do with the land things, and for his son to be hanging around in a boat was disgusting for him.

"Kuwabara and I were chased by the shark when we went out, so we hid in the ship to escape from it." Kurama explained with his poker face back on.

"I find that doubtful, or else you wouldn't still be holding your arm like that." Yomi pointed out.

'_Shit!'_ Kurama yelled in his mind. He quickly let go of his arm and Yomi glared at his son.

"HEY IT'S NOT LIKE ANYONE SAW US!" Kuwabara yelled at the king making Yomi and Kurama both turn to him. Kurama's eyes were fearful but Yomi's was full of rage. Youko hit Kuwabara over the head for saying such a stupid thing.

"You-YOU WENT TO THE SURFACE AGAIN? DIDN'T YOU?" Yomi roared at Kurama making him flinch. Kurama started to sweat, there was no point in lying now.

"Um, yes, but like Kuwabara said, nothing saw us…" Kurama trailed off. Yomi took a breath calming him a little.

"Kurama, why must we always go through this, what happens if you were seen, you could have been captured by one of those land creatures, like a human, OR DEMON!" he spat out the last words and before he could stopped it Kurama resorted.

"THEY'RE NOT ALL BAD YOMI, AND I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF; I'M NOT WEAK, NOR A CHILD!" Kurama yelled back. "UNLIKE YOU, I'M NOT AFRAID OF THE LAND PEOPLE!" Kurama yelled back making Yomi grit his teeth together.

"LIKE IT OR OT, YOU ARE STILL A CHILD AND ONLY 17. DO YOU THINK I WOULD LET MY YOUNGEST SON BE TAKEN AWAY FROM FILTHY HUMAN OR DEMON BARBARIANS?"

"THEY'RE NOT BARBARIANS! INFACT THEY'RE A STONG AND SOFFISTICATED CIVALIZATION!"

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?"

"I STUDIED THEM!" Kurama yelled. There was a tense silence, Yomi looked shocked, and his draw dropped. Youko had nothing to say for once and just stood, while Kuwabara's eyes were popping out. He was afraid of what would happen now. However Kurama wasn't done. "YES, I DID THAT! I RESERCHED THEIR CULTURE, HABITS, BOOKS, STYLES OF WRITING, ART, LITERATURE, MUSIC, AND MORE!" Kurama yelled and started panting, now out of breath. Yomi was taken aback by all this. However he got his wits back and glared down at his son.

"Y-YOU DELIBRITLIED DISOBEYED ME! WENT STUDIED ABOUT HUMANS AND DEMONS!!?, HOW COULD YOU! YOU BASTARD CHILD"- Yomi covered his mouth right away with his hand. He didn't mean to say that, he watched horrified as his son looked like he had been stabbed with a knife. Kurama even grabbed his shirt where his heart was. He felt betrayed, and cut, slowly with trebling hands, he clenched his fists and lowered his head so his bangs covered his eyes. "K-Kurama I didn't mean"- Yomi tried to say but was cut off.

"Why is that?" Kurama asked not raising his head.

"What, Kurama I-?" Yomi tried again but couldn't finished

"I asked you a question, lord Yomi. Why is it I'm a bastard child?" Kurama asked again, Yomi tried to say something but his throat wouldn't work. Kurama was no longer yelling, but this deadly calm voice seemed much more resentful. "Since you appear to not know, I'll answer the question." Slowly Kurama raised his head, revealing his dark green eyes, practically saying 'DIE' to the king.

"A bastard child is produced when a man and a woman have a child when they haven't been mated. That is a bastard child, however usually this doesn't matter to most people. However in my case I'm looked down as a disgrace, disturbing, an abomination. Do you want to know whose fault that is?" Kurama asked and suddenly his eyes sharpened and Yomi couldn't say anything. "It's yours! It's your fault no matter how hard I try, my talents won't be seen, no matter how many perfect scores I get, I will look like a cheater. How none of my brothers will never be on the same level as me, why my siblings** hate **me, why I was taken away from my mom and can never see her again," At that Kurama completely tensed, speaking about his mom hurt so much but he kept going. " Your fault I can't practice my water power without people wondering how a HALF BREED CAN DO IT, how come the Queen hates me, why I'll always be a burden for Jin, why Shishi won't ever go a day without a broken jaw. IT'S YOUR ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT!!!" Kurama yelled the last part and he couldn't stop his anger from pouring out anymore.

"If you didn't want to be my dad; YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN ME FROM MY MOTHER! SHE KEPT ME SAFE, HAPPY, EVERYTHING! YOMI, I HATE YOU!"

He yelled the last part and swam out the room Kuwabara yelling and swimming after him. Yomi had his hand out as if reaching out for his son. Once his son was out of view, he slid back down in his chair... _'I didn't know…' _was all he could think.Youko was glaring at the king, he hated the king for hurting Shuichi, his only friend for years, and he knew he would get him back.

**: END FLASH BACK:**

After that, Kurama swam out the castle, sometimes running into his brothers but he ignored them and swam away. He slowed down once he was away from the castle and entered his hiding spot, the entrance had been hidden by a large rock that Kurama moved there a long time ago. In the cave, the walls were covered with human things from top to bottom, shelves occupied from chests filled with gold and silver, to old warn out books. It had tons of different types of silver ware, a few games, movies that wouldn't play and were broken, Cds, and even a big bin of garbage labeled 'Unusable Goods!' Half way up the room there was a fishing net was hung up like a hammock, which Kurama was currently laying on, while glaring up at the hole in the roof. The room was lit up by more then that small hole; there were little balls of light around the room Kurama made, similar to the ones in his performance.

"Please Kurama; say something, anything, I know what Yomi said was wrong but please at least talk a little." Kuwabara begged his friend. Nothing he seemed to do made Kurama talk and that was nerve racking. He'd be happy just for Kurama to call him gold fish, which was saying something.

Finally Kurama moved his head to face Kuwabara. "Ne, Kuwabara…" he started. And Kuwabara smiled.

"Yeah Kurama, what's up?"

"Am I…really a sea prince?" Kurama asked taking Kuwabara by surprised. "I mean…am I actually worthy? Sometimes I think that blood really matters more then skill, so…" he couldn't finish. And Kuwabara did the best thing he could do, and punched Kurama strait in the face making him roll off the hammock (which he can do because he's an anime fish). "OW, WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" Kurama yelled massaging his sure cheek.

"FOR ACTING STUPID, honestly, you have it worse then any of your other brothers, heck you have it worst then most rich idiots, but you have more skill then the rest of those snot nose brats put together! Pull yourself together man, you know you're intelligent, your hotter then hell, and you know government like the back of your hand. So blood doesn't matter, even if your not the son of that ugly queen next to Yomi, your still my main man…fish…merman, whatever! Anyway, your mom wants you to do your best no matter what." Kuwabara yell at Kurama. Through the entire speech, Kurama's eyes opened more with realization and in the end he just sat there stunned.

"So, are you gonna just be a sniveling punk." Kuwabara asked and Kurama lowered his head and started laughing. Kuwabara looked at his friend like he was an insane.

"Of course I won't Kuwa-chan. You're the only gold fish here." Kurama said smirking once he raised his head.

"W-WHAT!? I'LL GET YOU KURAMA!!!" Kuwabara yelled at his friend and started chasing him around the room and Kurama started laughing and swimming away. After a while they ran out of breath.

"Th… Thank you…Ku…Kuwabara-kun.," Kurama said while panting.

"…Sure…any…anytime!" Both Kurama and Kuwabara smiled at each other.

CRASH!

Both turned quickly to see the 'unusable goods' basket fallen over and a white carb on the pile scratching behind its head. "Ow, I thought that would be more stable." It muttered and looked up to a wide eye Kurama and Kuwabara.

"Y-Youko... is that you?" Kurama asked surprised. Slowly the crab nodded…or something that looked like a nod anyway. After a second he turned back quickly into his normal form.

"…Hey Shu," it said and smiled. "Say, what's with all the human objects?" Youko asked casually.

"Um…I collected them…" Kurama said starting to blush. Why the hell was Youko here in the first place?

"Aaaah, I see..." Youko muttered and grabbed an empty pop can from the ground. "Interesting…WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING!?" Youko suddenly shout and threw the can back into the basket that was on the floor. "IF YOUR FATHER FINDS OUT"-

"PLEASE DON'T TELL HIM!" both Kurama and Kuwabara yelled at once.

"Common Youko, you know that he'd never understand." Kurama begged making Youko sigh. "Youko, would you mind answering why you're even in here?" Kurama asked knowing that Youko shouldn't know the location of this hiding place.

"Well that's simple, let's start from the beginning."

**: ANOTHER FLASHBACK:**

Youko saw Yomi's hand outstretch for his son who just ran away. Sadly the king slumped back down in his seat and held his face in one hand, slumped over the table. '_I hope this is beating you up!' _Youko thought glaring. Sadly the king waved his other hand and the door closed quickly.

"…Youko, I need you to do something." Yomi said with authority and he straitened up. Youko felt a pull in his blood, which means he wouldn't be able to refuse.

"And what would that be king fool!" Youko spat. Yomi for once seemed to let this go and looked right into Youko's eyes.

"Youko…please follow and look after my son for a while. He's not in his right mind... much to my fault, so he could get hurt. Just follow him and watch over him, alright?" Yomi asked making Youko surprised, he would have done it anyways but this was an order he had to do and didn't mind.

"Sure, why not?" Youko asked and smiled a little. After that he left the room and followed Kurama as best as he could, tracking his scent. He gained this ability while stealing when he was 621 years old. When he caught up enough to see Kurama he changed into a crab and followed him best he could until he saw the cave. He fallowed in once Kurama moved the rock and he hid among the human objects.

**: END OF OTHER FLASHBACK:**

"So that's basically why I'm here." Youko watched Kurama pale and he laughed. "Don't worry Shu; you don't have to worry about Yomi finding out about this place. I would never tell, and unless he asked very precisely, then I'd be forced to tell. However chances of him asking where and what occupies you're hiding spot are slim. It's all covered Shuichi…and you too Goldie." He said finished and stretched a little making Kurama relax, while making Kuwabara spazz.

"I'M A CARP!!! I SAID A CARP, WHY DOES EVERYONE CALL ME A DAMNED GOLD FISH!!!"

"It's because it suits you more, goldfish-no-baka."

"NO ONE ASKED YOU YOUKO!!!"

"Well you never asked a specific person either."

"FUCK YOU!"

"You'd like that wouldn't you."

Kurama suddenly burst out laughing after watching the 2 fight for that while. The 2 stopped for a moment watching him. He really did have a really nice voice. Tears went in the corners of his eyes from laughing so much and he bent half way over. "S-sorry," Kurama got out until he got his giggling under control. "It's just, you guys looked so ridiculous fighting like that, and after being in a bad mood…I guess you guys broke threw it and I just had to laugh." Kurama explained smiling. Youko shrugged and swam over to him.

"What ever Shuichi-kun, it doesn't matter; just as long as you're back." Youko said and put Kurama under his arm and gave him a nuggy. "But for laughing at the great thief Youko Kurama, you owe me something hot to eat and drink."

"AAAAH, owowowow, ok, ok, I give." Kurama yelled and Youko let go.

"Good now let's...huh?" The light in the room dimmed slightly and a booming noise could be heard from above. Kurama, Youko and Kuwabara looked up to see what was there in time to see something go right past the hole in the roof.

"What in the world could that be?" Kurama muttered out loud and went to the exit.

"Wait, Kurama!"

"Shuichi; wait up," Kuwabara and Youko yelled and they swam after Kurama.

Kurama went out the cave with Youko and Kuwabara on his tail. Kurama went to the surface of the water and saw the most breath taking thing he ever saw in his life. Youko and Kuwabara exited right after and started yelling.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING SHUICHI!?"

"WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH YOU KURAMA?"

They both shut up when they saw what Kurama was looking at. In front of the dazed red head was a breath taking wooden ship that had stopped for the time being. There were fireworks, music and lovely decorations around the ship. Kurama smiled and swam quickly and stealthy towards the wooden beauty leaving Youko and Kuwabara yelling at him from the spot, telling him to come back. Now, we all know that Kurama wouldn't be stupid enough to go so close to a ship in broad day light. However night was a completely different subject.

Kurama swam around the bottom of the ship until he saw a ladder that went up the side of the dazzling ship. Figuring it was a raer chance to ever study or observe land people up close, he decided to climb the ship. Even though he couldn't us his tail to climb up the steps, it wasn't too difficult due to his strong upper arms strength. When he was up, he looked onto the ship, ready and happy to finally see what land walkers were like.

_**END CHAPTER**_

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ok so that's a chapter. Hope u all liked it. Please review.


	8. Chapter 7

**The Sea Prince  
Chapter 7**

My this took me a while to write didn't it? I'm sorry for the long wait, but...I guess I'll blame slight lazyness, and sports...school, oh and that other story I put out. For those who may be interested in it, It's called **"The 14 Gifts Of Christmas".**

Anyway, Thank u for the reviews, it was really nice of u, and I love hearing ur idea's and guesses. I hope u all enjoy this fanfic. (Bows to u all)

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Finally Kurama would see land people up close, and he swore that no matter what, he would be happy with the results of what they were like.

There were mostly humans on the boat, and it looked like… they were partying. There was barrels of rum open every where, and there was lot's of happy music, Kurama was able to make out some Irish fiddle tunes. Many of the men who weren't just drinking or talking around the boat were also dancing. One man in particular was dancing all out, but clumsily.

Most of his hair was gelled back though some of it came out while he was dancing. He had a big bottle in his hand, most likely containing alcohol and was even singing to the music with a goofy smile on his face. There was no doubt in Kurama's mind that this was the. 'life of the party' as the human's called them.

A bird was flying around the ship squealing, "Pu!" Kurama saw it and smiled. '_What a strange but cute…bird/ penguin… thing, what is it?'_ The penguin looked at him and its eyes changed to the size of saucers. Kurama put his finger over his mouth as if saying 'shush' to the bird. Kurama then held out his hand, rubbing his finger and thumb together. The bird, curious of the merman, decided to come down to eye level with Kurama and the red head smiled.

"Hello little one," Kurama murmured softly and held out his arm. The bird cued again and instead of going out on the outstretched arm, plopped itself on Kurama's head. Kurama looked up cross eyed and then chuckled softly behind his hand. Gently, Kurama took the bird from his head and placed it on his lap and started playing with the overly large floppy ears. 

"HEY PUUU!!! Where are yea's you little pest!" The bird cued in Kurama's lap and started flapping its ears so it could fly again. Kurama let go of the bird as it started to fly away. Kurama smiled as it flew away, towards the guy with gelled back hair. "Oi ya lil' bird, ya need to stop tha…uuuh…uh flyin' away.

"Pu!" was the bird's response and it went on the gelled back hair of the drunken man.

The party started to advance and all the sailors started to drink more and dance more. Kurama started to think the party was getting out of hand. Apparently he wasn't the only one.

Hiei awoke from his nap and the first thing he noticed was that the ship stopped. The second thing was that there was a party going on. His eyebrow started to twitch as he watched it all from atop the sails. Where did all that alcohol come from? After 1.23 seconds of thinking he glared down at his advisor. '_**Yuusuke!' **_Hiei thought darkly and as he glared more at the idiot. Noticing that the party was getting worse quickly, he decided it was time for the crew to snap out of it.

He flickered down in front of Yusuke and grabbed his front collar and pulled him down to his eye level. "Yusuke, you have 10 seconds to explain to me, WHY THE HELL THERE'S A PARTY GOING ON!!!" Hiei yelled and started shaking the human. Who just smiled and giggled as the bird freaked and flew away almost screaming.

"Wow Hiei… luke at all si booze on da's sip (look at all the booze on the ship)." Yusuke said and started to giggle. Hiei looked weary at his advisor and covered his nose in disgust. "Detective, why is it every time there's a party going on, you wind up with breath that kills." Hiei said and walked away from him, getting the necessities for getting the advisor sober. Grabbing a random bottle a beer from one of the sailor's he poured out the contents and added a few things of his choice.

Yusuke went back to dancing like an idiot, until Hiei returned with an evil glint in his eyes. "Yusuke, where's that stupid bird of your's," Hiei asked calmly and Yusuke looked around wildly. Hiei then saw his chance and smacked the bottle on the back of Yusuke's head, and the contents splashed all over Yusuke's head and back. For a moment Yusuke seemed to black out, however one sniff of the contents running down his face made him cover his mouth and start gagging.

"OH MY GOD HIEI YOU LITTLE BUTT WIPE, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!!!!" Yusuke yelled and started to cough.

"I found the water in a barrow of dead fish, then I added some foul kind of beer." Hiei explained smirking at his advisor. Yusuke started to spit some of it that went into his mouth out and pinched his nose.

"Tha's disgustin Hiei," Yusuke said; his voice slightly changed because he pinched his nose. Hiei just shrugged smirking and got to the point.

"Yusuke, why is there a party going on, AND WHY DID YOU LET THINGS GET OUT OF CONTROL!" Yusuke smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, um you see Hiei…we umm…well, you when you can get the crew under control, and then I'll tell you what's up with the party, ok- deal!" Yusuke said the last part and patted Hiei's shoulder before running away. Hiei glared at the running human as it ran into the ship, locking the door behind him.

"Arrogant bastard," Hiei mumbled before thinking of a way to stop the crew.

Kurama watched the entire fight from his spot. Beside him was a nicely placed door in the area he was leaning on. It was open so that Kurama's back was resting against it, and he could look over through the hole at what was going on. As Kurama looked at Hiei, he couldn't help but smile. He showed that he knew how to control his men, not to mention, he was the hottest thing Kurama saw. He blushed to himself when he thought that. He watched the young man intently, forgetting that he was supposed to be studying the land peoples. The man seemed to disappear, but Kurama was able to barely see the smaller one flicker away. '_My god he's fast_…' Kurama thought letting a smile onto his face.

'_Pretty cute too!'_ Kurama jumped when he heard the intruder enter his mind. He quickly looked beside him to see a small white crab beside him.

'_Kuwabara is right, that is annoying.'_ Kurama thought back while calming his racing heart. Youko seemed to just smirk and went up the side of the boat and looked at the humans and demons partying.

'_Quite annoying things aren't they? Probably wouldn't ever go to a party unless there's some kind of alcoholic beverage.' _Kurama looked at the partiers and giggled behind his hand.

'_As much as I hate to say it, you're probably right Youko.' _Kurama responded, smiling sadly at the dancing humans. He couldn't say fish and merpeople were much different. It was such a shame they had to have the same faults, such as drinking. Kurama himself had never had alcohol due to the fact he was under aged, and it always made his brothers do strange things. Like sing out of tune, and dance while tripping UNDERWATER! How the hell did they trip underwater? THEY EVEN HAD FINS SO IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO TRIP!Plus, what was there to trip on? Well his brothers found a way, and they were the laughing stocks of the ocean when they had a 'few too many', as Yomi said it. "Stupid Yomi,' Kurama muttered under his breath, and Youko jumped down beside him and changed back into a merman, while carefully hiding himself.

"You got that right Shu-kun… however, as much as I despise with every part of my mind, body and soul"-

"You have a soul?" Kurama asked shocked. Youko merely punched his arm and continued.

"As I was saying, with every part of my soul as well, I must admit that he cares for you. Even if that doesn't excuse what he called you, remember this little one, he would do **anything **to keep you safe." When Youko finished Kurama's yes were wide with surprise.

'_WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FRIEND!!!'_

'_Hey you're learning how to enter minds too-WAIT A MOMENT!!! I AM YOUR FRIEND YOU LITTLE PEST!!" _Youko yelled back in his mind and grabbed Shuichi and started giving him a nuggie again.

'_owowowowowowowow!'_Kurama thought as Youko tormented his skull. '_I GIVE! I GIVE! Ow, you're Youko already."_

Youko smirked and let go of Kurama's head. "After all, no one hurts my head that much then you, proud baby." Kurama said in a low voice and Youko's eyes twitched and Kurama laughed and covered his head to protect his abused head. Their play fighting was stopped when they heard a sound from the boat, Youko looked over his shoulder, not really seeing anything due to the wooden ledge, but Kurama, feeling slightly more attracted to it looked carefully through the hole and gasped in wonder.

Hiei had to figure out a way to stop the idiots from partying now that his advisor was gone. Thinking for a while he tried his usual tactics such as glaring at them to get attention, which wouldn't quite work due to the amount of alcohol running threw they're veins, so they couldn't pay attention. He figured he couldn't use all the water in the fish barrels since the fish would go bad, plus he hated the smell; so that wouldn't work. He hit a few of the people to get attention but they just fell over and went unconscious right on the spot. The last thing he tried was using the jagan eye he had gotten a few years ago to find his sister, but he stopped that after entering the first person's mind after seeing what he was thinking; then started to continuously beat his head against the wall to get rid of the images he saw. I mean, who in their right mind fantasizes about Barney episodes when they're 30. Hiei knew he would fire that person for mentally scarring his brain later. Anyway; after thinking of a way to gain their attention and ways to get them sober, he did the one thing (Apart from killing them all.) he could think of …he played a flute.

Mukuro and everyone else, who had ever heard him play, had said he had almost a power to bring them out of anythingkind of trance, to listen to him play. Besides, Hiei was desperate even if he didn't show it on his suppose to be emotionless face. For when ever he played, he had a habit to relax his face a little so he had a very calm appearance, as if the music soothed him a little. The melody he was playing now was very complex, yet it had a very sad tune to it.

Everyone stopped doing what they were doing and gathered around Hiei to hear better. Hiei stopped and opened his eyes and smirked. '_You're right where I wanted you!_' Hiei thought and pulled a rope that was beside him. One of the sails that were still wet from the storm a while ago opened and spattered them all with water. Hiei dried himself instantly while the others complained and whined, some even screamed making his smirk widen. He liked doing evil deeds and knowing that he was right to do, sometimes.

"Okay, since I now know that you idiots are at least somewhat sober, TELL ME WHAT IN HELL'S UP WITH THIS DAMNED PARTY!" He yelled at the people. Hiei raised a brow when they all looked shock and started whispering to each other stuff like 'He didn't know?' or 'How could he forget?' caught his ear making him confused and even more frustrated.

"Cool down Hiei, it was for you." Someone yelled and Hiei glared at the person who just emerged from the ship again. "It's just a little party to celebrate you on your 18th birthday today; in other words HAPPY BIRTHDAY HIEI!" The gelled back haired person hollard. Hiei's brow twitched again and slowly one hand made its way down toward the hilt of his sword.

"Did I ever how much I hate alcohol detective…" Hiei said glaring at Yusuke.

Yusuke seemed to disappear for a moment and appeared right in front of Hiei who glared. "Hey relax, besides I got you a cool gift just wait for a moment." Yusuke said cheerfully with his hand over Hiei's drawing hand, which was on the hilt of sword. Yusuke quickly ran back into the ship leaving Hiei looked at his sword. '_Hn, since his skills are adequate, he can live,' _Hiei thought and took his hand off the sword and into his pockets.

Yusuke returned quickly with a very large covered…thing with a red bow tie and a tag. "Tadaaaa, happy birthday Hiei-Chan," Yusuke sang and put the thing down. Hiei glared and hit him.

"I. Am .A. Boy!" Hiei seethed as Yusuke rubbed the bump on his head. Hiei looked at the clothed again and he tilted his head. Yusuke smiled at the curiosity in his boss's eyes.

'_I wonder if his third looks curious too.'_ Yusuke thought looking at Hiei's bandana, which hid his Jagan eye. "Okay Hiei, open it." Yusuke said excitedly. Hiei grabbed the bow and gently tugged it and became came undone. There was a gust of wind and the cloth covering the gift blew off and landed on some unlucky crew member. Hiei didn't notice nor care as he looked at his gift.

Kurama gasped and blushed at what he saw. When the blanket flew off, it revealed another Hiei carved in stone! The small demon was in the most amazing position. He was crouched down on one leg and it almost appeared like he was glaring, and his eyes done perfectly. But more was the dragon that appeared to be going around Hiei from one that was on the ground arm and went behind his back to the other outstretched arm which was resting above his crouched leg. The head of the dragon was under Hiei's hand, which was appeared to be holding back the dragon, or stroking its head, which just stared ahead. He wasn't crouching on a smooth surface either, more like on a rocky surface that slightly surrounded the small demon. Everyone stared in awe at it until Hiei turned to look at Yusuke, staring blankly.

"This had better been under your budget Yusuke!" Yusuke started at Hiei wide eyed at that statement before laughing all out.

"Yeah yeah short stuff." Yusuke said and playfully glared. "Though, it would've been a mating gift if you hadn't scared away all of the damn suitors." Yusuke joked, poking Hiei's cheek. Hiei glared and almost bit the finger if Yusuke hadn't pulled away in time. Sulking Hiei went over to the ledge of the ship and sat leaned on it. Kurama pushed his back closer to the ship, since Hiei was now above him. Youko had turned back into a crab and was looked up at the prince. Yusuke walked over and leaned over the ledge beside Hiei.

"Penny for your thoughts," Yusuke said smiling. Hiei glanced at him briefly before his gaze went back to the sea again

"Never get me a mating gift detective; you'll only waste your money." Hiei said not looking at his advisor whose eyes widened.

"What the hell are you talking about Hiei? Of course you'll have a mate one day, just relax and be patient."

"**I** am the one who doesn't want one." Hiei said now glaring at his friend. "There's no one for me, because I don't want anyone."

Kurama didn't know why but his chest felt horrible at that moment and he looked up at the man above him sadly. Yusuke looked shocked before he glare at his friend.

"WHY THE HELL NOT!!! Listen Hiei, I know you're a"-

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Detective." Hiei hissed glaring. The 2 had complete eye contact now, and were glaring at each other.

"You mean that you're adopted?" Yusuke seethed silently so only Hiei could hear him, and the unknown Youko and Kurama. Hiei covered Yusuke's mouth with his hand and looked around the boat to see if anyone over heard them.

"Yusuke think of where you are before you spurt out my origin. If people on the ship know, then they won't respect me unless I kill someone. Then of course Mukuro will hear of it and I'll get in trouble for keeping order… This Yusuke is the reason there's nobody for me." Hiei said. Yusuke's eyes widened but he kept his mouth closed.

"It's my Origin Yusuke… everyone else; my suitors, my acquaintances, even you, Detective, have complete royal blood in their veins. I'm considered a low life, or underbred. And I don't want anyone to feel superior compared to me. That's why there is no one for me. I am the forbidden child, I'm not meant to love, or be loved. Remember that detective?" Hiei said it all emotionlessly until the last part, which made Yusuke smile.

"You also weren't meant to live when you were tossed off that frost biting, island, but you lived, you were meant to kill those bitches who told you that stuff, but didn't, you at least have one friend, me, despite the fact you don't want care. Hiei, screw that forbidden shit already, you've already stopped most of they're damn lies, why can't you shake off this one?"

"Fine, if you need another reason, detective, then I'll tell. All you stupid royal freaks I've met just talk!"

"…Huh?" was Yusuke's intelligent response to that. Hiei rolled his eyes.

"Do I have to explain everything to satisfy that empty brain of your's?"

"Yes please!" Hiei glared at his advisor for a few seconds.

'_Why do I keep him alive? All right, because I'm not strong enough to kill him… damn, I'll never admit that out loud.'_

"I really do despise you with every fiber of my being detective." Hiei said glaring.

"I love you too little guy, now common, tell me what you mean."

Hiei sighed and slumped against the side of the boat, Kurama pushed himself backwards even more so he was right up against the wall so he wouldn't be seen, but he was still listening intently to Hiei.

"When I say they just talk, that's precisely what I mean. Since they know I have not a drop of nobility in my veins, they don't believe I should talk. So they only talk, and when I use to try and talk to them, I was always ignored. To make it worse, they only talk about possessions. How rich they are, how the poor people aren't worth the effort to protect and of course the main topic, 'are you still awake Jaganshi?'" Hiei said rolling his eyes again and Yusuke laughed at that last one.

Kurama advert his eyes. He understood that feeling of being seen and not heard. The queen made sure he never spoke in her presence, and he had Hiei's problem when it came to suitors. However, he luckily found a way to scare them off, and used that method to get rid of them, plus keep them away.

Yusuke smiled and patted Hiei hard on the back. "Alright you make sense; we royal pricks suck ass!" Yusuke said smiling and Hiei started giving him side glares. "Listen though, for every one of us pricks, there's someone out there who will be good to you. He or she is out there somewhere, maybe closer then we think. So just keep an open eye out for them, because whoever they are will have a hard time getting threw that incredibly dense head of your's." Yusuke said smiling and he ruffled Hiei's hair a little.

Hiei glared even more and grabbed Yusuke's hand and did the only thing no one would ever think he would do. He bit him! There was a tense silence between the 2 and Kurama and Youko stared up in shock.

"YEEEEOW!!!!" Yusuke yelled and pulled his hand out of Hiei's fangs. Hiei smirked and Kurama was doing everything he could so he wouldn't laugh. There were slight tears in the corner of his eyes and he bit his thumb to resist laughing. Youko merely rolled his eyes at the childish attics.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU, A VAMPIRE!?" Yusuke yelled and rubbed his poor abused, thumb.

"Idiot, I'm a fire demon; and you've violated my personal space." Hiei said and turned his back on him. "...Detective, though I still have no doubt that all you royal decedents are all idiots, I'll keep your advice in mind." Hiei said turning and smirking. Yusuke smiled and gave him the thumbs up.

Kurama relaxed against the ship when the 2 walked away from the ship side and smiled.

"Sooo, you like him, don't you little Shu-chan?" Youko said smiling up at the prince in his crab for. Kurama looked from Hiei to Youko with wide eyes, and then he smirked, making him look slightly like Hiei.

"…Youko, you should never challenge someone who's over 10 times bigger then you." Kurama said with a light blush staining his cheeks. Youko's eyes widened when Kurama picked him up with one hand by the claw. "Now go cool your head down in the water you pervert!" Kurama almost yelled and he threw Youko away into the water.

Before Youko hit the water he turned back into a merman and hit the water in an elegant dive. Kurama watched his friend go below the waves and shook his head. '_Vain bastard.'_

'_I resent that comment!' _Kurama jumped at the intruding voice of Youko. _'But since I molested your brain more then once today I'll let it slide. However you owe me big, little Shuichi-kun.' _Youko finished and the mind link was disconnected. Kurama shook his head sighing and turned back to look at Hiei who was leaning on a chair glaring at the statue. Kurama looked at the statue and back at Hiei, _'I'd say…the real one is hotter…but, the stone him shows more emotion.' _Kurama thought and laughed silently at his own joke. He then stopped and rested his head in his arms, smiling beautifully at the real Hiei.

Hiei had this odd feeling like he was being watched. The crew was taking a break but not drinking any more, which made Hiei a lot happier (of course he didn't show it). However looking around Hiei saw no one but the statue which was staring strait at him. Hiei glared back at it and leaned back on his chair. Hiei really wasn't interested in statues and the stone was creeping him out. Hiei got up and started to walk away, but he still felt as if someone was watching him, studying him… Then he felt malice.

Hiei stopped and looked around, feeling, no! Knowing someone was getting ready to attack him. He walked over to Yusuke and tapped him on the shoulder. "Yo, what's up…Hiei?" Yusuke looked at Hiei's face and noticed at once that Hiei was on edge.

"Someone's watching me." Hiei said and his Jagan eyes slightly glowed from under the bandana. Yusuke felt it too; someone was getting ready to strike.

Nodding, Yusuke and looked around. "Yep, I bet it's another annoying bounty hunter or assassin after our heads." Yusuke said smiling. Hiei rolled his eyes except his third which was searching for the person.

Kurama felt something as well, as if there was a predator around. '_I should leave if anything happens.'_ Kurama thought and he looked sadly back at Hiei. He didn't want to leave the demon's side… He never wanted to leave him again. Kurama was shocked at his own thought and shook his head, erasing all thoughts in his head.

Hiei was looking around when he heard something… it sounded like… some thing sizzling? He understood and looked around the ship. "SHIT!" He yelled and covered his head, Yusuke did the same.

BOOM

Part of the middle of the ship blew up and some of the crew members were blown off the sides of boat, others screamed and were throne across to walls. Fire works came from the inside out from the ship and was either exploding close to everyone, or out in the distance, the ship caught fire, terrifying all the crew, humans and demons alike. Kurama himself fell off the boat when a fire work exploded close to his head, almost causing a substantial amount of damage.

Hiei and Yusuke protected themselves by making shields at the last moment, Hiei's made of black flame, and Yusuke's made from spirit energy.

"Heh heh heh heh heh! Looks like the famous Jaganshi won't be as bad as we thought."

"Hmm," was the other's response. Hiei and Yusuke glared up at the 2 people who were on top of the sails, clouds of smoke surrounding them both. When the smoke cleared it reviled 2 people. 1 was wearing a strange outfit with little orb like objects around his waist, his hair went strait into the air and was blond, but wasn't nearly as cool as Hiei, and the other was in a full suit of armor so you couldn't see his face. The one in the strange outfit was chewing gum with an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Glad to meet you, forbidden child, I hope you wrote your will." He said grinning, and spat out the gum. Hiei smirked and put his hand on the sheath of his sword.

"Yusuke, this might be one of the most interesting birthdays I've ever have." Hiei said to Yusuke smirking.

Yusuke nodded and cracked his knuckles. "Your one crazy bastard Hiei," Was all he said, but smiling as well.

The 2 teams glared at each other, except the one in the armor, for no one could see his face. People were running off the ship getting onto row boats and getting away from the burning mass as fast as they could. However the assassins, Hiei and Yusuke were oblivious to them, all that mattered was that someone was going to die. And that the fight was going to be interesting.

" I hope you guys don't mind us crashing the party, but we're in need of something... like the Jaganshi's head." The one in the strange cloths said. "For we are the famous assassins"-

"Told you Hiei," Yusuke muttered smiling but Hiei just glared at the others more to make up for the fact he couldn't glare at Yusuke right now.

-"And me, Poison peach boy, get ready to die half punt."

* * *

Ok, that's all for now, in the next chapter there will be an epic battle...or as epic as I can make it, I never did a fight sceen personally. 

Oh well, please review, for I love hearing what u people think. bye bye (bows again to the people)


	9. Chapter 8

-sighs- do I even have to explain y this took so long to come out?...yes, I think I will, I'm sorry if I made you guys wait...again... as I said before I never made a fight sceen before, not to mention soccer, and the worst thing of all, EXAMS!!! I hate those things!

oh yeah, i think this might be the most violent thing I've written about, but whatever, please tell me what u think and review. Oh and for those who don't have an account, would u mind leaving me ur email? That way I can reply to u :3 thank u for reading -bows-.

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**The Sea Prince**

**Chapter 8**

There was a tense silence for a moment before Hiei started to shake and Yusuke grabbed his ribs and clenched his teeth together. The assassin smirked "So you've heard of me. Are you ready to piss your pants now?" Poison Peach boy stated cockily. He stared at the 2 then frowned immediately. Yusuke suddenly bent over, tears overflowing from his eyes as he laughed his head off. He then fell to the ground and started banging his fist against the boat. Hiei was a little more dignified and started laughing behind his hand, his sword still up though.

Poison Peach boy clenched his fists and teeth together, his face showing nothing more then pure fury. "WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING ABOUT!!!?" He yelled at the 2 and Hiei was able to stop his laughter mostly, and put on his cocky, evil little grin everyone knows. Yusuke was finally able to get off the ground and smiled barely able to keep in his laughter.

"Nothing Peachy, but I have a question for you, was 'puffy pumpkin' and poppy cake stolen before you chose your name?" Yusuke said and started to laugh and Hiei rolled his eyes.

"Idiot detective, he's probably that assassin who kills people by telling them his name, and then watches as his targets laugh themselves until they've pissed their pants and die. That must be the reasoning for having such an idiotic name." Hiei said smirking. Yusuke nodded, his idiotic grin plastered onto his face.

"Of course, but don't torment him so much, he might throw peach juice on us. Oh pleeeease Peach man, please spare us such torment."

"Yes, because god knows being sticky can be sooo terrible." Hiei ssaid then stater laughing while Yusuke was already laughing his head off again. Poison Peach boy's eyebrow was twitching repeatedly. Beside him, he heard Bui slightly laugh and Peach boy glared at him.

"…" Bui looked at him and lowered his head in apology. Hiei and Yusuke also got a hold of their selves and faced the 2.

"Okay, we're done now." Yusuke said taking a few deep breaths in and out.

"Hn, at least we know he's working for a woman." Hiei said smirking.

"Huh, how'd you know that?" Yusuke asked, now focusing more on the other 2 now.

"It's probably a false name given to him by the client. She's probably a rich one too, if she could actually make him use the stupid title." Hiei explained smirking. Peach boy, was still clenching his jaw and fists. And his temples were pumping in his head.

"I GET IT THE DAMN NAME SUCKS!!! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!!! AT LEAST I'M NOT SO SMALL THAT PEOPLE CAN'T SEE ME WHEN I STAND BESIDE THEM!!!"

"I rather be short then have your name. Besides I'll grow, you'll die!" Hiei said and flickered off.

The blond headed assassin smiled, "I get the runt first, and you can have the slick headed child."

"…" was the response as he jumped off the sails and landed heavily on the ground. He had to move quick as the part that he was standing on caved in and fell into the flames on the lower end of the boat. Yusuke smirked and started to stretch an arm (by putting one hand on the shoulder, then bending the other hand and moving it in a circular motion… but I don't know how else to explain, let's go back to the story!).

"Looks like I get the tin man." Yusuke said getting into stance, Bui again, said nothing. Instead he held his hand out to the side and suddenly summoned the biggest Ax Yusuke had ever seen. "…shit, how can the floor support your wait?" Bui looked down on the wood around him and shrugged. He didn't know, but that wouldn't stop him from killing this kid.

* * *

Peach boy in the meanwhile was watching out for Hiei, the little thing had to be out there somewhere Hiei suddenly appeared behind him and brought his sword down, aiming to cut him in half. However the assassin saw him at the last second and quickly dodged enough, only get a large gash in his back. Hiei smirked as he watched the man fall and hit the ground of the ship. 

From the sails, Hiei was surprised to hear laughter from the assassin. The man got up, smiling as the blood fell off his back, landing in a puddle around him. Laughing like a hyena, he looked up like Hiei.

"Man that sword stings, wow… that's really sharp!" He said through gritted teeth. A smile lit his face as he looked up at Hiei. "That pain… has been mesmerized!" he said and took a ball off his belt. Hiei raised a brow in confusion as the man brought it to his lips.

'What is he, a masochist?' Hiei shrugged the thought off as he saw the ball turn to a white smoke. The man slurped on it until it had all been devoured. Hiei's eyes widened as the gash healed, and new fur grew out of his arms and legs. His hair also changed color. Of course this was one of Hiei's first thoughts.

"What, now you're a monkey?"

"Ha, easy for you to poke fun, but no this is Beast armor 1, Simian pelt." The man replied smugly.

"Like I said, you're a monkey." Hiei mumbled. Peach boy just grinned.

"Careful runt, these words might be your last, especially since you can't use that sword anymore." He said smirking. Hiei looked at his sword and back at the assassin.

'_Whatever!_' Hiei flicker down, and attacked the man, He was there in less then a second and aimed the sword at the man's head. The assassin just smirked and blocked the hit with the arm. The impact shattered the sword and for the first time in the fight, Hiei looked surprised. "How!?" Hiei muttered before flickering backwards to avoid a hit.

"You're too slow kid!" a voice said from behind him and he turned just in time to be hit by the Assassin. Hiei went crashing threw the ground, onto a lower level of the ship.

* * *

Yusuke dodged the ax that had come down on his head again and jumped away. He had been dodging the tin man (as nick named by Yusuke) for a while now. He found out the guy could summon as many axes as he wanted, and he was fast. There was no doubt in Yusuke's mind that this guy was no push over. 

"Okay, do you think that this was a big enough warm up for us both?" Yusuke asked the silent figure. "Judging by your ability to bring forth a conversation I'd say yes!" Yusuke said sarcastically.

Tin man just brought another ax forth and this time slammed the ax into the ground, then, lifting his ax with ease, he brought out a chunk of burning wood from the ground and flung it at Yusuke. Yusuke jumped out of the way to dodge the flaming wood, but Bui had planned that and was right above Yusuke planning to cut him in half. Yusuke gulped as he watched the ax come down. Glaring he summoned spirit energy to his finger and pointed it at Bui's chest. "REI GUN!!!" He yelled as it hit Bui hard. The man coughed and slid against the boat's surface before going off the side of the boat, going strait out the door Kurama was hiding near earlier. Before the ax fell Yusuke caught it by the handle and put it over his shoulder like Bui.

"Heh, man these assassins are getting worse and worse all the time." Yusuke said cockily. A giant splash came from the water and Bui jumped out of the water, and back on the sinking ship, which was half way under water by now. His eyes glowed from beneath his heavy armor. "So you're not so bad after all!" Yusuke said.

"And you can do more then talk!" Bui said.

Yusuke was taken back. That was the first time the guy actually spoke. He had a surprisingly deep voice. Bui started to take off the armor on his arms and threw it over his shoulder, it was so heavy it went right threw the wood and sunk into the ocean.

"Most people use armor to protect themselves, however with me, it's the opposite. I use the armor to protect my opponents." He explained.

""Why thank you for the consideration, but I'm strong enough to take you on tin man!" Yusuke said glaring.

"Let's hope so!" The big man said and removed his helmet.

* * *

Peach boy smiled as he looked at the hole Hiei just made. Hiei jumped out after a moment, there were slight burns on his face, and his cloak was torn and singed. He glared at the assassin before throwing off his cloak, revealing his blue tang top, which was also torn at the straps. 

"Impressed forbidden one? You should be," He boasted smiling psychotically. "Listen here fire brat; my body can mesmerize pain, while these 'dumplings' allow my body to withstand the damage. YOU MIGHT AS WELL SEND YOUR DRAGON AFTER ME, IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT WILL KILL ME!!!" Hiei glared at him for a moment.

"You're a fool, and feeding you to the dragon will only get the beast angry. It hates eating weaklings." He said glaring. "You're not worth the dragon's rage!" He stated as his eyes narrowed.

Peach boy growled and ran at Hiei, who blocked a hit to his head, but couldn't block the hit to his stomach in time, coughing he was grabbed by the shirt and thrown into the largest mast oo the ship. Peach boy grinned as he walked towards Hiei.

Hiei got up, spitting out the blood he coughed up, and then rub his mouth eith his sleeve. He hated the taste of blood. His hand hid his smirk as the assassin approached, "raging… fists of the over lord!" He said smiling as fire burst out his hands, covering them like flaming boxing gloves. Not wasting a moment, to truly appreciate his victim's scared face he charged at the larger man, punching him in the gut and face, burning away flesh and eyes! The assassin screamed in pain and fell to his knees as Hiei jumped away.

Hiei's smile fell when he heard the man start laughing after a while. "That pain…has…been mesmerized." He said, barely able to speak. But he grabbed the dumpling and started slurping up its fog like he did the last one.

This time, his fur changed into yellow scales or feathers, Hiei couldn't tell which. They grew along his arms and face, forming the sharpest wings ever. His chest was also covered now, bur with a lighter coat, showing his abs and chest. His old vest, barely hung on to one other arm, for the other was torn off.

"From a monkey to a canary, what's the next pathetic creature you'll turn into?" Hiei asked bored.

"Heh, you laughed once and all that happened was your butt got kicked. But now you have nothing but your stupid dragon, and once you send that out then you'll be week and helpless. Before that though let me introduce my new armor; Beast armor 2, demon avian pelt."

"Hn, more stupid birds," Hiei muttered rolling his eyes. He crouched down, getting ready to fight again.

Peach boy smiled and charged at Hiei who blocked quickly, but got hit in the head. Instead of being flown away like last time though, Hiei grabbed the guys arm and used his strength to throw Peach boy in front him. The assassin hit another mast, making it fall over, and its sails going into the ocean. Hiei turn in mid air and kicked the man in the stomach when they collided. The man grunted, but grabbed Hiei's leg then slammed him onto the ground. Hiei coughed, and the bird like assassin slammed him against the mast again.

"HA! THIS IS THE FAMOUSE JAGANSHI!! Yeah right, this is just an annoying weak link, pathetic! I guess it's true, orphan children are just weak and unworthy of anything." He said with a sneer. Hiei's eyes opened and his fists caught fire again. Glaring He pounded the man with a fury of punches, that did barely anything except make the man let go. "And you say I'm pathetic." Peach boy said laughing as Hiei flickered away from the man, trying to get some space between the 2.

Peach boy would have nothing of the sort. Faster then before, he grabbed Hiei by the neck and slammed him into the ground. _'No doubt now… he definitely is getting stronger…'_ Hiei thought and he coughed a little. The man above him smiled.

"I wonder what it feels like, to hear your neck snap in 2…" He said, smiling sadistically. Hiei glared as the man choked him. "Goodbye Jaganshi…"

Blood sprayed across the night sky…

* * *

Yusuke gulped when the man revealed his face. He had Green hair, with a very strange scare on his forehead. He also had a very good physique, but Yusuke was more concerned about the over powering aura pouring out from the man. It suddenly exploded and the man started levitating in the air. Yusuke took a step back from the assassin. 

"Shit… he's like a pizza pop!" he muttered.

"That's creative, especially since you'll probably never touch me!" He yelled. "Let alone, defeat me." He yelled and sent a ball of energy at him. Yusuke jumped out of the way just in time, but the thing turned and followed him.

"SHIT!!! It's the ninja stars all over again!" He yelled and kept dodging; running from the things the best he could. Seeing the ax, he grabbed it and threw it at the blasts. It exploded on contact. "Yup, definitely like the ninja stars…" He muttered, remembering one time where he fought a ninja that used something close to the spirit gun, except he used his whole hand. In the fight he threw stars at him that exploded. Yusuke won by a fluke in the end.

'_Wait, that worked once before...' _Without thinking twice, Yusuke suddenly charged at the man. Bui shot another ki blast and Yusuke rolled sideways, the blast went past him and Yusuke ran forward at him again. Bui smirked. A blast was coming from behind the teen, grinning he sent another at Yusuke. He was now trapped between 2 energy bombs which were both going at him from the front and behind, Yusuke smiled and jumpedtowards the ground, smashing threw the burning wood and into the lower region of the ship. The bombs hit each other and blew up in Bui's face. Cringing Bui looked around, Yusuke had seemingly disappeared.

"Where'd he - huh!?" He looked below him, and the ground was glowing blue. "uh oh…" He mumbled before he was hit by a huge beam of spirit energy sending him flying. 2 levels below 3 feet of water was Yusuke with a few burns on his face, arms and chest. He was holding up his finger, where some smoke was coming from.

"Wow that actually worked!" Yusuke said smiling. "Awesome, that's another great plan from me!" He bragged and jumped back onto the deck, while in reality it was all just dumb luck. There was a green ball coming at him when Yusuke looked up. "Huh?" he muttered getting into a defensive stance. At a closer look, he could see it was Bui charging at him from mid air. Yusuke quickly jumped out of the way to try to avoid collision, but Bui changed direction in mid air, and punched Yusuke in the stomach, making his insides bruise. Yusuke coughed blood and was limp on the fist for a moment.

"I heard your name was Urameshi Yusuke, Prince of King Raizen's territory, his distant son, 40 times removed wasn't it? Impressive, I heard you were close to getting your demon blood released. It's a shame really, that his legacy will end with you." Bui said sadly as he summoned another ax. Yusuke looked up and gasped, with his stomach in so much pain he couldn't react enough to shoot the guy. It was like slow motion as the ax came down…

* * *

There was a tense moment of silence as Hiei glared at the man above him his left arm shook slightly before the assassin screamed and got off Hiei. In his eye socket was a pointy stick, which Hiei had stabbed him with at the last second. Now that the man was off him, Hiei quickly got up and made distance between the 2. 

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD, RUNT! Grr… heh, whatever…" The man mumbled and he took the wooden stake from his head, his eye came out with it, making him flinch. Man that was painful. Hiei just stood there looking bored from a distance, a sail fell from its hangings, burning it caused another hole in the ship. Taking a quick look, Hiei could see water in the lower levels of the ship; it was surprising the ship lasted so long. However the fight had to end soon, or else they would fight underwater, a place where Hiei had no chance in hell.

'_I should end this, usually only one dumpling is enough. However this guy had forced me to Avian, he's good. With the last dumpling however, he will lose._' Peach boy thought.

"I'm ending this…" He said and took out the last dumpling Hiei's eyes just narrowed as he watched the man eat the ball and transform again. This time, the man fur grew out again, but it wasn't frizzy like the monkey coat, this time it was smoother, longer, and covered all of him. His hair also went down and became smoother, his eye grew back again. His face became more pointed and Hiei's eyes widened when he realized what he was becoming.

"That's right brat, beast armor 3: beast pelt."

"…Are you a dog?"

"I'M AWOLF IDIOT!"

"Still sausage meat …" Hiei said glaring. If there was one thing Hiei hated, it was wolves and dogs. To him they were cheerful, loud, slimy, drooling beasts, and the worst ones were the wolves. They always seemed to be mocking him with their packs, and team work and loud voices! He hated they're high pitched squealing!

Peach boy smiled, his muzzle looking more repulsive as he did. Hiei crouched down getting ready for the next and last round. Grinning, the new wolf man charged at Hiei, who did his best the block the hit that came at him from the front. He even blocked the second, as a clawed hand came down, and barely scratched his cheek. He caught the hand and threw him over him, but the wolf flipped in mid air.He charged again, pounding him in the gut, making him go flying again. He skidded against the ship before hitting one of the smaller masts again. Trembling for a moment, Hiei started getting up but when he moved, he felt his arm get cut on something really sharp. Looking sideways to see what it was, he saw something that made his eyes widen. It was the hilt of his sword, the rest of the pieces, were probably scattered around the area but he didn't have the time to look for them. However that one piece of metal, had given him an idea. Standing up, heard the other fighter laugh.

"Don't you see? I'm superior in speed and strength, your flames won't affect me at all, neither will your pathetic sword skills either; I'm purely superior!" He boasted.

"Probably…" Hiei said as he picked up the sword by its hilt. "Too bad this fight has to end now." He grinning evilly, the ground behind him caught fire and fire rose behind him, making him look all black for a moment, except his eyes, which were glowing blood red; promising death of the worse kind for the assassin, as his Jagan glowed behind his bandana.

The assassin wasn't intimidated. "Trying mind games are we? Or have you got another ace up your sleeve?"

"Not an ace, just a move that I rather not use if I can avoid it." Hiei explained.

"Is that all? What pathetic last words." The Assassin said before disappearing. Hiei felt the man reappear in front of him, and the wolf punched in the chin making him go in the air. After going up for a few seconds, he felt strong claws dig into his shoulders, and sharp fangs, enter his shoulder. It was understandable now; Peach boy was planning on ripping Hiei apart, literally!

The key word was planning…

Hiei took his chance at the last moment and made a sword, sharper then before, but hotter then his normal flames and sliced him threw the man a dozen times…He was dead before he started trying to rip him apart.

As dismembered body parts fell to the ground, Hiei did a flip in the air and landed on 1 of the sails. Grabbing the head that was still attached to his neck he pulled it off him and looked into the dead eyes of the assassin. "I aimed for your neck first, that way I could answer your question earlier about what the neck sounds like as it snaps off." Hiei stated calmly and dropped the head in a pile with the rest of body parts, which would be the place where the man would be cremated Hiei cut a line above his head and another sail fell down and landed on the assassin. In secounds, it caught fire burning the body. Hiei turned his back on the wolf and looked around.

"Where'd that idiot detective go? He and his opponent have been distracting me that entire fight. Why does Yusuke get to fight the stronger one?" He muttered to himself. Another thing he hated was getting the weakest of the fighters when he fought. The one Yusuke was fighting seemed to have enormous power, so great that he couldn't fully focus on his own fight, and in the end giving him more wounds then he should've had.

Looking around a little more, he spotted the 2 and his eyes widened when he saw Yusuke falling over the big man's fist. He glared as he saw an ax transform in the man's hand.

"Damn it Detective" He almost yelled and he flickered off.

* * *

Yusuke closed his eyes, _'at least I'll die with out regrets…except maybe one…' _Yusuke suddenly felt a huge pain in his ribs and he was thrown off the fist. 

Groaning he looked up and his eyes widened in surprise. Hiei was standing near where he was, holding the ax's blade above him, a thin line of blood went down his arm as he glared at Bui who looked shocked. Hiei must have kicked him away, saving Yusuke.

"Understand this Tin man, only I am aloud to kick the Detective around!" Hiei said and he sent ki into the ax, melting the entire blade. "By the way Yusuke, why do you always get the strong ones?" Hiei said and turned to glare at Yusuke.

Yusuke blinked for a moment and just sat the looking at Hiei before laughing. "You just saved my ass and that's all you got to say? Not to mention you look like shit; the other guy must have given you some entertainment."

Bui stayed silent before sighing. "Urameshi Yusuke." Yusuke looked over at him curiously before getting up.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry for taking it easy on you it was rude but let's"-

"Your bird is in danger." Bui stated making Yusuke shut up and stand in shock.

"…What- WHAT DID YOU SAY!" Yusuke yelled thoroughly pissed. Hiei's eyes also narrowed.

"Peach boy made the plan, to get you 2 split up, after all, all we need is Hiei… I'm sorry to say that we're not interested in you at all Urameshi, sorry for the inconvenience." Bui said calmly.

"SCREW THAT!!! TELL ME WHERE PU IS OR I'LL SHOVE MY SPIRIT GUN UP YOUR ASS AND WATCH UR BLADDER POP OUT YOUR MOUTH!!!"

"Hn, calm down Yusuke," Hiei said glaring at Bui. "It's obvious now who they wanted, they just attacked you because they wanted to split us up, knowing you wouldn't step down and let me fight the 2 at once. You get your idiotic beast and I'll finish the fight.." Hiei said stepping forward; Yusuke reluctantly nodded still glaring at Bui.

"Okay then, now tell where he is!" Yusuke said while glaring.

"Somewhere in the cabin. I'm not sure where though; Peach boy was the one who hid the poor thing." Bui explained. Yusuke glared some more before turning to the ship and running inside the burning cabin. Hiei turned to Bui glaring; he put his arms down and a black dragon tattoo made its way to his arm, showing it's self for the first time on the ship.

"Just so you know, I hate cowards who hide behind harmless creatures, so may your deaths be long and painful." Hiei said glaring and Bui nodded.

"It wasn't my idea, he just did it. Is that the reason you burned him alive?" Bui asked.

"No, he was dead anyways, I just did that because the 2 of you ruined my ship!" Hiei explained as his eye roamed around his once beautiful ship.

Bui laughed slightly before smiling insanely. "Hiei Jaganshi, I challenge you! Only an energy which is stronger then mine can hurt me. I want to see your black dragon to see if you can defeat me." Hiei regarded him for a moment before smirking.

"So that's why the other wanted me to use the dragon. You would have saved him and then he would kill me while I would have been out of it, interesting strategy." Hiei commented, Bui smirked and nodded.

"However, I won't give you a choice now, YOU WILL FIGHT ME WITH THE DRAGON!!!" He yelled and summoned all his energy. Hiei's eyes widened in surprise when he felt the energy come from the guy and he took a step back. When it finally stabilized, the man got ready to charge and Hiei knew, he had no choice but to release the dragon.

* * *

Yusuke punched the door off its hinges and jumped into the cabin. Some wood fell down blocking the exit, but it was nothing he couldn't handle later. He ran through the water, which was at his heels as he rushed through the cabin. He was calling Pu's name, hoping for a response from the poor bird. Running he saw a room and pushed it open, slightly burning his hands on the way. Looking inside, he saw Pu screeching as it tried to untie itself from a chair. Sighing Yusuke walked up to the poor thing. 

"Man you're a trouble maker Pu; I was actually worried ya were hurt." Yusuke said grumpily. He was relieved the bird was safe, but because of Pu, he couldn't finish his fight. When Pu was released he flew out the room yelling its name repeatedly, but instead of going to the exit, he went another way and went deeper into the ship. Yusuke ran after him.

"YOU STUPID BIRD, YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!!!" He yelled and followed him. Pu stopped above a stair well that was flooded and dived under, and started using its ears to paddle itself through the water. Yusuke looked perplexed at that. Pu didn't swim, or at least he never did before…oh well he was a penguin... sort of.

Deciding not to think so much He dived into the water and swam after Pu. Pu stopped near the middle of the ship and tried pointing at something with its ears. Looking over Yusuke saw what Pu was trying to warn him about… in the middle of the ship, was a huge bomb, which could go off at any moment. Swallowing a huge amount of spit in his mouth, and some salt water, Yusuke knew what the assassin's plan was from the beginning. They separated Yusuke and Hiei, so when Hiei used the dragon he would be helpless to block the bomb or swim through the ocean's currant. Yusuke grabbed Pu and hauled him back. He had to get to Hiei before it was too late.

* * *

Dark flames erupted from Hiei's hand as dark rays of light went through the clouds. An aura like no other was pouring out from Hiei. Bui smiled, his plan was to force the dragon back on Hiei, and so it would eat him whole. To do that he would have to use everything he got. 

Hiei's aura was so great that his shirt was burned off, and his pants got cuts in them. His tattoo moved around his arm before coming out. In an eruption of black flames, and a shape that came from the pits of hell was black dragon. It attacked Bui as Hiei called its name "DRAGON OF, THE DARKNESS FLAMES!"

The dragon unleashed it's furry and attacked Bui; its jaws, clapping down on him, but unable to get through his powerful aura. With amazing strength Bui was trying to stop the gaping jaws of the flaming beast from closing on him. Hiei watched, amused, allowing a smirk onto his face.

Bui had to use all he had if he wanted to survive. With one last burst of energy, he was able to fling the dragon off of him, sending it straight to Hiei. Hiei looked surprised as the dragon came toward him, and then glared before the jaws clomped down on his small body, and taking him into the air.

Bui landed on the ground and cached his breath. An insane smile went over his face as he started laughing. "I did it, I killed Hiei, the the wielder of the Jagan eye. MUHAHAHAHA!!! I KILLED THE ADOPTED FORBIDDEN CHILD!!! AHAHAHAHA-"

"What are you laughing at?"

That voice cut threw Bui's laughing and he stopped immediately. And he turned, beads of sweat pouring down is face. "N-no…it's"-

"Impossible? What a fool you are." It was Hiei, the dragon was disappearing and its form was changing to Hiei's. Bui looked up in shock as the flames were absorbed into Hiei's body. When Hiei landed on the ground, for a moment he was just a shadow, before his features appeared. He looked better then before the fight. There were no wounds, no scratches, it was like there was never a battle.

"Idiot, didn't you know that the dragon of black flames isn't just a weapon? It's much more, it doesn't just kill the user's enemies. No what it really does for **true **masters, is increase their strength by the thousands." Hiei explained walking forward. Bui stepped back in shock before running at him; punching him in the face as much as possible.

Hiei kept smirking as he was hit over and over again, before catching the man's fists. "I am more then just the forbidden child, I am the black dragon!" He ushered before burning the man's fist and punching him in the stomach making him fly. Hiei flickered behind Bui, then faster then the other could see and hit him in the head sending him crashing to the ground. "For the record, Yusuke was just going easy on you, in reality, he's even stronger then me."

Bui moaned and looked up. "Aren't you going to kill me?" He asked. Hiei stared at him before answering.

"Die your self, I don't care…" Hiei started walking away, feeling very tired. The battles and summoning absorbing the dragon had completely drained him.

"I think I will… I hope you won't mind… joining me…" Bui muttered as Yusuke ran onto the deck.

"HIEI WATCH OUT!!!" Yusuke yelled but it was too late, as Hiei turned tiredly, he saw Bui press a button before falling back. Hiei fell on one knee as the ship shook violently Yusuke barely kept his balance when water started to fill the deck.

Yusuke ran and put Hiei's arm over his shoulder, when an explosion happened close to them.

"Detective… Is this your fault?" Hiei muttered tiredly while glaring at the taller man the best he could. Yusuke laughed and shook his head.

Bui however wasn't quite done, picking up a piece of his armor he threw it and it clapped itself around Hiei's leg. The weight caused his foot to sink threw the wood and he fell to the ground. Bui smiled as a bomb exploded from under him, causing his death. '_At least my target will fall to…_' was the man's last thoughts before he was killed.

Hiei and Yusuke tried to pull his leg out but it wouldn't budge.

"DAMN IT!!" Yusuke yelled as he finally pulled Hiei's leg out.

"Hn… I guess I'll see you in hell detective." Hiei said making Yusuke look up at him in shock. Hiei took his chance and punched him as hard as he could in the taller man's face then grabbing his arm he threw him across the boat sending him flying. Yusuke looked back and saw Hiei working on the clasps on the armor. No matter how tired, Hiei would never stop fighting until it was all over. When Yusuke landed in the sea, he looked back and saw Pu flying towards him, dropping some wood in front of him. Yusuke looked back in time to see the ship completely explode.

"HIEEEEIII!!!!" Yusuke yelled before a wave landed on him. Yusuke despite it all, swam towards were the ship formally was. When he got there, he franticly searched for his friend, but couldn't find the small demon. He called over and over again, but got no response. "No… he's not dead… no… DAMN YOU HIEI!!!" Yusuke yelled as he punched the water.

* * *

When the boat exploded, Hiei was thrown threw the air and landed into the ocean away from the ship and Yusuke. Now Hiei was was sinking fast and had no help. There were new burns all over his body, but the armor on his leg was the thing dragging him down. Finally, after sinking for so long he was able to undo it, and he tried swimming up. However, no matter how exelent a swimmer he was, with all the youkai Hiei lost and the battles he faced, he was too exhausted. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't swim threw the tide, and after a while, he couldn't move at all. His lungs were burning, he couldn't do anything. 

'_This is pathetic! Death by drowning! Hn, this is the worse, the detective…will pr—probably…never…l-lemme… live_..._ it…' _Hiei let the rest of the air escape from his mouth as he sank.

"NO WAIT, HANG ON HIEI!!!"

'_Someone's…calling… who?'_ Hiei felt someone grab his wrist, and with the last of his strength, he looked up and saw a person, with beautiful green, concerned eyes looking down at him, and pulling him up toward the surface. In a mater of seconds Hiei and the man reached the surface. Hiei coughed up water as the person held him to his chest keeping him above the water.

Looking through the corners of his eyes, Hiei saw red hair all around him.

"Don't worry; as much as this might hurt your pride, I'm here to help. Just sleep and regain your streangth"

Hiei knew the person was right, and he grumbled and before passing out, he muttered 2 words. "What... name…?"

The man smiled and looked down at the smaller demon. "It's Kurama." As fast as the merman could, he started swimming towards a place were he could rest Hiei. It was a huge island known as Alaric.

* * *

DONE!!! man, was that lame? I tried to make it interesting but I'm not sure if it was. 


	10. Chapter 9

**The Sea Prince **

**Chapter 9**

It's finally done! I'm so sorry that, once again, it took forever to come out. Also, special thanks To Samantha Fisher for helping me in this fic. She helped me with a new song. once again I'm really sorry for taking forever, but I must say something weird happened. in the last 2 weeks I suddenly got lots of reviews, thank u to those people who reviewed, and everyone else (bows).However, could it be possible if u all could look at my profile after this and answer my trivia question #2? I'd be really thankful if u did (u REALLY don't have to answer #1).

Now that I said what I wanted, on with the fic!

* * *

A hand slammed into the ground of a beach and a loud gasp of breath could be heard. The hand dragged 2 people up a little before the person collapsed on his side, to avoid landing on the smaller form beneath him. Kurama turned onto his back and started gasping for air. He had just swum over 800 miles nonstop, above water, as fast as he could while carrying someone. Such a task was difficult.

'_Too…long…swim…paaaain!' _Kurama thought as he panted. A wave of went up to their chests and started pulling Hiei back with it. Kurama screamed before grabbing Hiei and pulled him further onto the beach until the tide only touched their toes… and fin.

"Y-You're s-…such a… tr-trouble…troublesome thing. You know that?' Kurama asked before falling on his back next to Hiei. After 10 minutes, Kurama was finally able to breathe normally, but he still had cramps. Turning onto his side again, he finally had a good chance to study what he just saved. Blushing; Kurama looked at Hiei.

'_He's hotter up close… but he looks so… so… adorable when he's sleeping!'_ Kurama thought blushing. Hiei looked much younger in his sleep, and he even breathed like a tired child. Kurama couldn't't hold back anymore, slowly, his hands started to gently caress above Hiei's brow, and went lower to his cheeks. (OMG intimidate scene) Grinning evilly, Kurama pinched Hiei's cheeks and tugged them a couple of times, stretching the koorime's face. (Never mind)

Hiei groaned in his sleep, and Kurama let go after a couple of minutes. Hiei's cheeks were pink from the 'torture' Kurama gave him, and a few nail marks were imprinted into his skin. Smiling Kurama started laughing hysterically. "I knew it, his cheeks and skin is so soft. Just like a girl's." He yelled and fell backwards. The fire demon had surprisingly plump cheeks, Kurama was shocked that he didn't't have dimples.

Kurama finally finished laughing after a while and got control of his self. Smiling he sat up, and bended his tail, so it went beside him. He then pulled Hiei closer to him, and aloud the fire demon to rest his head on his lap. "There, you should be more comfortable here then on the ground. If not then I'm sorry." Kurama said and he brushed Hiei's bangs out his eyes.

* * *

Youko and Kuwabara panted heavily as they made their way near the beach. They had been trying to catch up to Kurama for a while now. Even while pulling someone Shuichi was still the fastest person Youko had ever known, and he knew _a lot_ of people.

"Damn that kid's fast…" Youko said tiredly as he clung to a rock. Kuwabara merely nodded and just floated on top the water. Youko suddenly saw something on the beach that caught his attention; he quickly grabbed Kuwabara and hid behind the rock. Kuwabara almost screamed profanities at him but Youko placed a hand over his mouth and pointed to the beach. Confused, Kuwabara looked around the rock to see what Youko was looking at. There was no need for anything to cover his mouth anymore because what he saw made his jaw drop.

He saw Shuichi gazing down at the fire demon with a light smile on his face, brushing the land walker's hair out of his eyes. But the thing that Youko and Kuwabara were both really shocked about, was the look in Kurama's eyes. Never had they saw that much care or love in his eyes; they were shining like gems as they gazed down at the little demon. Youko smiled, it was about time Shuichi fell in love with someone. He didn't't care about the legs, just Shuichi's happiness. 

Kuwabara thought it was strange though. He never liked land walkers, due to their lack of respect to the ocean. He knew that they often killed whales for next to no reason, and they once threw chemical waste in the water. Those were times when only humans ruled the world, and now that demons and humans coexisted again for the 2nd time, things were going better. However, he just couldn't't forgive them, even if this kid was a demon. His jaw dropped when he saw the 2.

Youko rolled his eyes and closed Kuwabara's jaw for him while watching the 2. '_Whatever's good for you Shu-chan.' _He thought as he watched the tender scene.

Kurama found he was having slight trouble breathing after a while and he knew why. Looking at the sea, he stretched out his hand and water immediately snapped out of the ocean like a whip and it wrapped itself around his arm. Using his hand, he manipulated the water so it was like a belt, then,removing his hands from Hiei, they went to his sides. Grunting slightly, he found the place he needed on his fin and lifted his scales up, revealing gills. Lifting his scales made all he water that was already under there fall out and splash on Hiei and the sand. Kurama couldn't't breath and started coughing. Being quick the water went around his waist and covered his gills; each becoming blobs of water covering his gills. Kurama was still gasping for breath until he lifted his scales over the water and closed them again. The gills were covered again and Kurama coughed a little more before he started taking deep breaths.

Sighing, Kurama realized that he was resting his head on Hiei's and he jumped back. Hiei grunted in his sleep and turned onto his side, trying to find a more comfortable position. Kurama smiled at the action and ran his hand threw Hiei's hair a few more times. 

'_His hair is surprisingly soft…' _Kurama thought and he sniffed him a little. _'He smells nice too! Kind of like rain and… that smell when the wood was burning. Kin-dares (cinders) I think the land walkers call it.' _

Youko watched from a distance and grinned while Kuwabara thought it was awkward. "Hey Youko, why is Kurama looking at a land walker like that," Kuwabara asked confused? Youko's brow twitched and he smacked him over the head. "OW, hey"-

"You twit!" Youko hissed cutting the carp off and making it sweat. "I knew you were dim but this takes the anemone jells!" Youko said. Anemone jells were sweet and a popular desert in the ocean.

"Well sorry for wondering why Kurama's so attached to this alien like person; BUT IT'S CREEPING ME OUT!" Kuwabara yelled and Youko rolled his eyes. 

"Because I'm so nice and thoughtful"-

"I didn't't know you could be nice." Kuwabara said astonished and Youko punched him so hard that he hit the ground and got stuck in the mud under water. Youko went under and rested on his arms on the ground.

"Ahem, as I was saying before you fell and got stuck under water."

"YOU HIT ME!" Kuwabara protested but then coward under the glare that Youko gave him and shut up.

"Shuichi-chan has finally fallen in love with someone." There was a tense silence before Kuwabara said anything.

"No fucking way." Kuwabara finally said and Youko sighed again.

"Idiot, has Shuichi ever looked at anything like that before?" Youko asked.

"Well… actually no."

"But he is obsessed with land walker things and habits, am I right?"

"Well… yes but I'm sure it's only a hobby." Kuwabara said thinking about it.

"Now for the last question; has he ever sang one of his mother's lullabies to someone who was having a nightmare?" Youko said grinning.

"HELL NO! Kurama said he would only sing his mom's lullabies if he found someone he really liked, and that's imposs"-

Youko grabbed him and lifted his head above the water. 

"Able…" Kuwabara's jaw dropped when he saw Kurama lightly singing his mother's lullabies to the young demon. The demon looked as if it was having a nightmare but was calming down by Kurama's voice. Kuwabara felt his jaw be pushed up, once again,and he looked up at a smirking Youko. "… You're right; he's hooked!" 

Youko nodded and looked back at the 2 on the beach; his smirk turned into a smile as he watched Kurama sing. _'It's nice to know that Shuichi has finally fallen in love. It may not be with me but I'm okay; just be happy Shuichi… but I'm still gonna crash your first date!" _Youko thought smirking evilly.

* * *

Hiei was having a dream about his past. He kept hearing the words of the elders as they threw him off the island.

'_Do not pity the beast! He's a disgrace… a curse amongst all of us'_

'_They're stupid. I was just born, so stop saying those things' _Hiei thought covering his ears annoyed.

'_Kill him just toss him.'  
_

'_DON'T KILL MY SON!' he heard his mother cry out in vane._

'_It's useless mom, you should know that! Maybe I should've killed them all when I returned to that forsaken place. Then maybe these damn dreams would leave me be.'_

'_Kill… stop… please…' _Hiei's eyes widened as the words started to get softer, and soon indistinguishable; eventually fading away completely. In its place, was a song that made him relaxed! He couldn't't quite understand the words, for they were quiet, and muffled.

After a while, Hiei started understanding and his eyes widened as the song continued. The words were so sad, and for some reason, it was almost as if it was a tale of his own life.

"-_Nobody knows your heart..._

_Pull out your sorrow, grief, and pain,_

_Locked away in the forest of the night!_

_A sacred heart belongs to the world-_

_Of the things that sigh in the dark;_

_All the things that cry in the dark."_

The song ended, and Hiei was able to feel someone stroke his hair. He wanted to open his eyes, but couldn't't. He was still weak from the fight, the long swim, and using the dragon. 

'_Next time, I don't save the detective!'_ Hiei thought angrily, knowing that he was powerless in the arms of a stranger. A very comfortable, nice smelling stranger with really soft hands… '_Stop while you're a head!' _Hiei thought angrily and mentally slapping himself. '_And such a nice voice-DAMN IT!' _Hiei yelled at himself.

Kurama noticed Hiei's eyelids were twitching and he stopped running his hands threw his hair. Sighing, he knew his time with his new friend would be cut short.

"You're probably going be annoyed with this but the truth is Hiei, that I over heard you and your friend talking over on the boat. And for that, I wish to tell you something."

'_He heard!" _Hiei thought shocked. That was a personal conversation, and no one was around him… besides Yusuke of course.

"I know you don't like talking so much, but I promise if you ever wish to speak, I'll always listen. So one day, I hope we can become friends so you can tell me your problems and I can help you get around them." Kurama said. In his mind Hiei scoffed, he'd heard something similar before, only once, but they only wanted his money. Then, he heard the person hiss in pain and smelled blood. 

Kurama lightly pierced the palm of his hand with a clawed finger. Most of the time, merpeople's hands only had normal, if not only slightly pointed nails. But they could transform into claws if they needed be. If they were in danger, the claws would grow 3 inches and become sharp like razors. Kurama clenched his hand allowing the blood to run across his hand. When his hand was completely covered, he held entangled Hiei's and his fingers to let the blood flow onto both of their hands. 

"Now I have to keep that promise," Kurama said seriously. It was a powerful tradition for the merpeople, that when you shook hands in blood, you had to keep the promise, or deal that was made. However, the promise was not fulfilled until the other person cuts their hand and returns with their own vow, which was equally important to the other.This technique was usually used in extremely important situations like trades, marriages, and treaties within the ocean,

Hiei had no idea about any of that, but he did sense some importance in the hand shake. Whatever it was, he'd find out later.

"Do you need help opening your eyes?" Kurama asked politely. But no matter what tone he would've used, Hiei understood the actual message. _'I know you're up!'_

"…Hn," Hiei muttered tiredly.

"Sorry, I don't talk grunt,care to elaborate?"

Hiei grumbled. How could one guy go from serious to jokes in 30 seconds? Then very slowly he started to open his eyes on his own. He winced at the sunlight at first then his vision started to focus.

He looked up in shock. Smiling down at him was a very handsome man, with crimson, red hair that shined in the sun. He also had the most enchanting green eyes, and beautiful skin. Just looking into those eyes Hiei felt his face turning red.

Kurama on the other hand, was staring into Hiei's eyes. He had never seen such a dark shade of red in any kind of species. They were even darker and more beautiful then his hair; but also damaged, dark, sad. Kurama sighed and smiled at Hiei.

"Nice to meet your acquaintance Hiei-sama." Kurama said politely.

Hiei blinked tiredly, and he nodded slightly. It was then that they both heard a cuing sound in the distance. "Puuu, pu PU!" It was the flying penguin Pu! It had been searching for Hiei when he spotted the merman again, with the prince resting on his lap. Kurama tensed when he saw the bird and gently placed Hiei's head on the ground. 

"I'm sorry Hiei but I must leave now… I'll return something important in 2 days." Hiei wanted to ask what he meant when Kurama quickly put his hand over his face, shutting his eyes. A wave came down on them, Hiei didn't't move from his spot, but started to cough violently and sat up straight. When he looked around, there was no longer anyone beside him; just the wind, the waves, and someone calling his name. Turning his head, Hiei saw Yusuke emerge from behind a rock, and when he saw Hiei; his eyes went all childish and excited.

"HIEI, THANK FUCKING GOD!" Yusuke yelled and ran towards him; Pu flew down and also went close to Hiei. Hiei tiredly pushed Pu away and Yusuke punched him in the face, sending him skidding across the beach. "Hiei you little bastard! I was looking everywhere for you in the water before I finally decided you swam away on your own. I even went to the bottom when Pu saw Bui's weights that were stuck on you. In the end, since we couldn't't find you, at the bottom of the sea or floating around the surface, we decided you must have tried to swim back. Damn you and your macho attitude." Yusuke finished glaring.

"Yusuke, I'm glad to know you found my heir mostly unharmed and intact, but if you punch him like that again I might have to kill you." A woman said also emerging from behind the rock. She was kind of beautiful. She had a slim shape, nice orange hair, and a beautiful blue eye. However, one of her eyes was made of glass, her right arm was mechanical and so was half her right leg. Her right ribs were also covered by machinery, but all of this was covered by her loose fitting clothes, which looked totally brilliant on her. She wore light green pants and a very pale long sleeve shirt which was covered by her purple vest. She was also the lord of the country, which expanded far beyond the little island where she lived.

Yusuke laughed nervously. "Sure Mukuro, but really Hiei," He said, turning his attention back to the smaller form. "How on earth did you swim over here when you were so tired?"

Hiei blinked twice while he rubbed his cheek. It was sore before Yusuke had hit it… and he was sure he felt finger nail imprints as he rubbed them. "… Some one saved me…" he said tiredly. Yusuke's jaw dropped and Mukuro's normal eye rose at the statement. "He was cool looking… had nice hair… really sexy with nice voice…" Hiei was starting to fall asleep again, and if he wasn't't so tired, he would've never said all this. "…I think he pinched my cheeks" He finished and he fell onto his back, once again hibernating. Mukuro and Yusuke stood there; just staring at Hiei for a moment before bursting out in laughing.

"Oh… the things my boy says when he's asleep…" Mukuro said. Yusuke nodded and smiled.

"You know Mukuro, you should just force him to call you mom, no matter how much he'd oppose." 

Mukuro shrugged and put Hiei over her shoulder. "I could, but I'd prefer if he did it on his own time, no matter how many centuries I'll have to wait." She said the last part annoyed. Yusuke laughed but nodded.

"Yep, he's a stubborn one- hey! Where'd Pu go?" Yusuke suddenly yelled and looked around.

"Not my problem you can't take care of your retarded bird." Mukuro said shrugging and Yusuke glared at her.

'_Those 2 are definitely mother and son… still-' _PUUU! WHERE ARE YOU?" Yusuke yelled at the top of his lungs. He then started to look around for the bird

A short distance away from where Youko and Kuwabara were hiding, Kurama was once again playing with Pu and his overly large, cute, floppy ears. He pouted when he heard Yusuke call the bird.

"I guess you'll have to leave soon." He said and Pu nodded with a cheerful smile. Sighing, Kurama thought of something before he let the bird go. "Can you… deliver messages?" He asked thinking quickly. Pu nodded but looked confused.

"Pu?" It asked and Kurama laughed. 

"If you see me, please come over, I'll always have messages for Hiei." He said while smiling Pu smiled once again and nodded excitedly. "Thank you little one, now go on, before that man thinks you ran away." With that, Kurama lifted his arms and Pu flew off, going back to Yusuke.

Kurama smiled as he watched Yusuke give a lecture to the bird, which just seemed to brush it off like it was nothing.

He couldn't't see Hiei anymore, but he looked at the spot where they were just a few moments ago, just him and Hiei. Smiling Kurama closed his eyes and aloud himself lean against the rock '_Hiei… one day, let's try to be together.'_

He sighed happily and relaxed, not noticing the golden eyes which sadly looked upon him. Youko then smiled and swam up to Shuichi, "Shuichi, thank god we finally caught up to you!" He yelled and hugged the smaller man from behind. Kurama screamed in surprise before he was pulled back into the water, making a huge splash. Youko laughed as he held Shuichi.

"Good job Shuichi, it's your first time falling in love, how do you feel?" Youko asked as if he was a host on TV. Shuichi turned his head and looked up questionably.

"I'm not in love… I just thought Hiei would be nice to befriend; since we both don't have many."

Youko stayed silent, registering what Shuichi just said; Kuwabara laughed though.

"Of course you don't love him, you'll just think about him all the time, and possibly wondering what it's like kissing him." Kuwabara said in a joking way.

Shuichi yawned and leaned into Yoko's embrace. "Precisely Kuwabara-kun," the young prince seemed to be falling asleep.

"Hey, Shu-chan, are you alright?" Youko asked worriedly and Kurama just nodded his head.

"Just a little tired… ne Yo-kun." Shuichi suddenly said, getting Youko's attention. He hardly ever used that nickname anymore. "Can you carry me home? I'm sleepy!" Youko snickered at Shuichi's use of vocabulary. There was no doubt now that the prince was tired.

"Of course Shu-chan, but just this once okay?" Kurama only nodded as he drifted asleep in the merman's arms. One of Youko's ears twitched as a smile spread across his face.

"Are you sure you're alright with Shuichi falling in love?" Kuwabara asked the taller one as Shuichi snored softly. Youko looked down and smiled.

"I don't think so, Kuwabara. You should know that I also love Shuichi very much, but if I stop him, I'll only show lust. Even if it's with another, I want Shuichi to always feel safe and happy with someone he loves. However- if that person hurts Shuichi, I'll tear their spleens out along with every bone in their body, before I kill them!"

Kuwabara stayed quiet for a moment and paled. "…Youko, you just ruined your love for Kurama tribute." Youko just shrugged and smiled. 

"Oh well, maybe next time it'll be more romantic." Youko said and started swimming away with Shuichi in his arms, just sleeping peacefully. No one saw the 2 electric eels pull their heads out of the water and their red eye close to each other, watching the3 head closely.

* * *

Deep down in the darkest parts of the ocean, in his lair, Karasu was laughing hysterically, so hard in fact, that he had to hold a cupboard door to hold himself up.

"MY god, this will be too easy!" He almost yelled as he laughed. "The kid is in love with a demon prince. A hot and adorable prince, but still it's a land walker." He started laughing again and let go of the door and he fell to the ground, pounding away at it. After a while he stopped laughing and got off the ground, his eyes changed from a dark violet, to blood red gems. "My, and everyone knows how Yomi feels about their kind, I can't wait to see the reaction. Also Youko…" he looked into his black bubble, which showed Youko swimming away with Kurama in his arms. "You have made your self… extremely vulnerable to me. If my plan works out, I will not only have the youngest sea prince in my grasp, but Youko and another as well. Muhahaha." Once again, Karasu broke into his malicious laughter.

* * *

It had been 2 days and Hiei was strolling across the beach near his castle. He had a new bruise on his face and bandages wrapped around his head. His sparring with Yusuke had gone a little over board that day.

His mind went back to that person who saved him just 2 days ago. Yusuke and everyone else had told Hiei that he must have been dreaming and that real people did not just randomly swim through the ocean saving unconscious people, and that he must have subconsciously grabbed something and drifted to shore. Hiei didn't't believe them about the second part, but he was starting to consider that the handsome man was just a figment of his imagination. Sighing to himself, he couldn't't help but remember what the man said to him though: '_I'll return_ _something important 2 days.'_

'_What on earth could that be…?' _Hiei thought. Sighing again, he headed the place where he saw the red headed beauty only a few days ago. Hiei grunted and walked around the rock '_Whatever it is, it's not like it'll be there. Dreams don't give gifts after all.'_

As he turned the corner, he gazed upon the spot where he and Kurama sat 2 days ago. As expected, there was nothing there. "Ha, I knew it…" He said smirking. He stood there for a moment before his smirk changed into an emotionless frown, '_as expected. No one really cared.'_ Hiei walked over toward the spot where he and the other laid. Bending down, Hiei couldn't't help but place his hand on the spot where they were.

"I guess… you actually didn't't exist after all…" he said and moved his hand across the sand. Hiei sighed one more time, and just as he was about to pull away, something sharp cut his fingers. 

As a reflex, Hiei pulled his hand to his chest before looking down at the ground in shock. A small amount of his blood was on the ground, but there was also something there that wasn't't before; something shiny. Realization dawned and Hiei took his shirt off and started wiping the ground where his hand was cut, when the sand moved away Hiei was in shock as he saw the top part of his sword on the ground.

Wiping the ground some more, more pieces of the blade showed in order. When he was almost done, he saw all his blades pieces in order, still broken, but there. When Hiei was about to brush off some more sand away, a wave washed over his hand, and the hilt was shown with a note was attached to it. Hiei was in such a state of adrenaline, that he didn't't question his motives as he tore the not from the hilt, and took it out of a sealed envelope, which was apparently water proof. With trembling hands, Hiei straitened the folded note and started to read:

_Hello Hiei-sama._

_I'm sorry our conversation was cut short but it would have been bad if other people saw meat that moment. I'm not a criminal or assassin, but trust my judgment when I say, that it would've been shocking, and a most unfavorable position for us both. Get your mind out of the gutter!_

Hiei blushed at that sentence because he was thinking down that way.

_What I mean is that my species is very rare, and not many people know of us. So I couldn't't let them see me at the time. Please understand and forgive me when I say it would be impossible to tell you what I am in this note. However, if you are reading this, it must've been because you believed I was real. Thank you for that._

Hiei coughed uncomfortably and blushed slightly, knowing that he actually doubted this person.

_I hope to see you soon, and please pay attention to the flying penguin; he might just give you things from me from occasionally._

_From you're (hopefully) new friends, Kurama._

_PS, was my grammar correct? I've been studying how to write and read your language for a while, but the writing is a lot different from my own kinds. It doesn't't help that I'm self taught…_

Hiei gaped at that, someone who was self taught could write that well? The person had to be lying….hadn't't he?

_PPS, I also have to be honest… I did pinch your cheeks. _

"I KNEW IT!" Hiei yelled angrily and he clenched the paper in his hand. He almost yelled as he straightened the crumpled paper. "Oops!"

_Sorry about that, but you looked so… um… let's just say you look much more relaxed when you sleep and that I couldn't't resist. (You were cute!) There I wrote it, I'm sorry but I have a hard time lying sometimes. However, I am really sorry; I'll refrain from doing so again. _

_From, Kurama_

Hiei finished and blushed slightly. Without realizing it, he rubbed his cheek, and looked at the envelope and back at his sword that laid in pieces, he couldn't't help but smile._'Hopefully new friend hmm…? _'He thought and laughed "Maybe…" He grabbed the envelope and inside was… an old broken pen. It wasn't't nice, but he tested in on his arm to see if it could work before writing a note on the envelope.

_I appreciate the effort you gave when returning my sword. I'll see if it can be fixed… and I'll consider becoming your acquaintance, however if you're actually just an assassin, I will kill you… until then, I won't judge you and…it was most appreciated… Kurama._

_Hiei Jaganshi_

Hiei placed the note on the ground where he thought the tide wouldn't't get it. He then carefully collected all the pieces of the sword on his shirt before smiling and tuning to face the water. "Thank you, Kurama." He kept smiling until he went behind the rock where it transformed into a smirk. '_I don't have to stop smiling until I get to the palace, then I can force the swords smith to work hard on repairing my blade. Then if he doesn't't do it well enough, he'll have to do it again.' _Hiei snickered at that thought.

Kurama looked from around the rock and saw Hiei walk away. He smiled and used his water power to get the note. He transformed it into the shape of a whip and it went around the note and snapped right back to him. Kurama caught the envelope and read it. He laughed and held it to his heart. "I think that's the nicest thing I could get…" He rested his head in his arms and smiled. "Thank you Hiei…" With that he swam back into the ocean and head home, with a real smile blooming on his face.

**END CHAPTER **

* * *

(1) please tell me if that was clear.

Okay, so another chapter has been made, and I hope I did well. especially about grammar, I worked really hard on that this time (sighs) oh well. Please tell me what u thought, and comment if the people were in character or not please. That's really important to me.

Remember to take a look at my profile and answer question #2 please. And just so no one forgets, I don't own yu yu hakusho, or Princess Mononoke. Just to clear up, I only used part of that song to make it more accurate (also I don't know the whole thing ; ). Thanks and please review (bows.)


	11. Chapter 10

**The Sea Prince**

**Chapter 10**

Alo, sorry for the wait...

I really wanted to get into alot of stuff which I didn't get into... it's really sad. so instead I'll have to do all those things in the next chapter... -hides behind something- please don't hurt me TT-TT. Again I'm sooooooooooo sorry for the wait. I don't know why I keep doing this to everyone. and I'd still like votes if you can look at me profile some time. It'd be much appreciated. Thanks to all those who already voted.

And on with the story... hmm... I must remember to do a bonus chapter one day that's all about Hiei to make up for his lack of screen time so far... Ok, thank u for reading my story -bows-

* * *

It had been 2 weeks since Hiei and Kurama had first exchanged their letters. During that time 2 other notes had been exchanged, but neither had seen each other's face since the incident. So Hiei purposed a game; he wanted to see if he could guess Kurama's species before he appeared before him. Kurama accepted thinking it would be fun, and left special hints in each letter he sent.

Unfortunately, that is not where the story is starting…

* * *

A small mallet hit the side of the wall, gaining everyone's attention in the bathroom. In other words; the 5 older Sea Princes, besides Jin who was missing at the moment. Shura put the mallet down on the ground beside his stool. He then proceeded to start washing his scaled again with a small towel.

"Attention everyone, I have called forth this meeting to see if anyone else has noticed the huge difference in our youngest half brother." Shura started, many green bubbles were sticking to his scales as he wiped them.

"Yep," Sasuka responded.

"Of course," Touya said while putting some pearl colored slime in his hair.

"Who hasn't?" Risho replied in a bored tone while cleaning his nail with some sea weed.

"The you mean the shrimp?" Shishiwakumaru said annoyed as he brushed his teeth; foam almost fell out of his mouth.

"Excellent, now does anyone have any idea what the hell has happened?" Shura asked, he now grabbed a small stone and used it to scrape off the bubbles.

"No, but I have a question." Shishiwakumaru said annoyed. "Why should we care, and why are we talking about it in the royal bathroom?" If he knew that they were going to discuss his youngest sibling, then he would have bathed alone.

"Shut up Shishi, you have no opinion today!" Shura yelled and Touya and Sasuka both rolled their eyes at the childish behavior, while Risho didn't care. After all, Shura was the youngest next to Shuichi, and was only 22. An age which merpeople considered themself children. (around 12 in human ages)

Shishiwakumaru huffed and turned away, spitting out all the foam into a small bucket while he did so.

"Back onto the topic, does anyone have any ideas why our dear half brother has suddenly changed?" Shura continued.

Touya raised his hand and Shura nodded. "I believe that person is an alien!" Touya said dead seriously and Risho fell of his chair (anime fall, yay!) "Our brother wouldn't have let me fix his hair willingly, and ask for tips to keep it in good shape. This has to be someone else!" Touya almost yelled. He still couldn't believe it. Only 3 days ago, Kurama did just that; very shyly and through gritted teeth, but still, he had asked.

"Touya, don't exaggerate!" Risho order and Touya flinched at the harsh tone and looked away. "Though that was unusual, that person is our half brother. You saw him practicing his water power, that's more then enough proof!" He reminded and Touya sighed and slowly nodded.

"Actually…" Sasuka started off and Risho sighed. His brothers were all idiots. "Kurama has been acting very strangely as of late… Though I believe that he still is our brother, maybe his mind is being controlled." Everyone stayed silent giving Sasuka encouragement to continue.

"After all, Youko even said that those who mastered reading minds can also control them. Maybe he's controlling our brother right now!"

"...Don't insult Youko!" Everyone stared at Shishiwakumaru who was just brushing his hair with a comb, it was orange with pearls embedded in it, with the word 'vanity' carved into it in the merpeople's written way. Strangely enough, even though Humans and merpeople spoke in the same language, they wrote differently. The Merpeople probably changed how to write it so they would be separate from humans even more. "He knows the little bastard so well that he would never make a mistake. If Kuramais under someone's control it's not by that thief. Though as I said, the little half breed means nothing to me at all, for all I care, the thing could just"-

SLAM!!

Everyone looked wide eye in shock at the newly appeared red head.

"Wha' ah ya all discussin in a bat' room ya bunch o' dorks?" Jin said grinning. Shishi was knocked out though. Having someone slam a bucket made of yellow gorgonian coral over your head so hard that you broke though it, really hurt. To put it simply, Shishi was watching the fishes.

"W-we were j-just talking about K-Kurama's strange behavior, Onni-sama!" Shura stuttered. Jin was said to be the strongest of all the sea princes, yet he hardly ever showed his violent side. He was usually just overly cheerful, and overly enthusiastic. However, get into a fight with the bubble headed prince, and you were in for a good ass kicking.

"Ah, ya mean 'is new 'appy-go-lucky attitude as o late!" Jin said smiling again and sat on the stool where Shishi use to sit. "Ya, tha's new, it's been a loooong time since I saw 'im li'e this! Though I 'ave to admit, ah never thought that 'ee would act li'e tha again!"

Touya looked confused, "again?" He asked. He then grabbed an oyster shell and removed the slime from his hair. He merely clapped the shells together on some of his hair, and slid it off, bringing the slime with it.

"Ya don' remember toy?" Jin said shocked. Everyone in the room slowly shook their heads (except for Shishi who was still out of it). Jin burst out laughing "Ya really are a bunch o dorks!"

Risho and Sasuka glared while Touya looked confused, Shura was slightly glaring but wouldn't correct his brother.

"Would you kindly explain what we have missed dear brother!" Sasuka said gruffly and Risho nodded his head as he glared.

'Ain' i' obvious? Kura-kun's in love!" Jin calmly stated while brushing his scales with a stone. Many things happened at that comment. Shura fell of his chair, making his newly cleaned scales dirty again; Touya broke the oyster shell in his hand in shock, causing slime to squirt all over his hand. Sasuka's nail cleaner fell to the ground while his eyes popped open, and Risho choked on some seaweed which he was flossing his teeth with.

"WHAT!!" They yelled at Jin who laughed.

"Ya're all a bunch o klutzes taday (I meant to spell that wrong, it's for his accent)!" Jin said laughing.

"That's not the point; just explain to us how you know this!" Shura yelled, and Jin just blinked twice.

"Ee as that nice tide aroun' im again, thas all…" Jin said dreamily. The others just raised a brow and Jin laughed again at their faces. "Okay, ah'll spill! It's 'is songs, they're different from before, avn't ya noticed?"

Touya opened his eyes in realization. Jin was right! Before Kurama would only rarely get caught humming one of his old sad lullabies, but now one could catch him singing a more cheerful tune and more often. Not to mention he was also starting to show up to their singing practices on time (Youko was especially happy about this since he was the teacher.)

"So ya see, ee's also been more relaxed, more 'appy, theirs a certain push in 'is fin which wasn't there before. I's almos' li'e ee's tryin ta impress someone. And tha' new look in 'is eyes… ah remember when I looked tha way at the person ah admire..." Jin sighed for a moment before looking at his brothers again. "Ee's still our brother, ee's just in love, don' worry abou' im too much."

The sea siblings were looking at their brother in a new light. They had never seen Jin so mature before.

"WAIT A MOMENT; How can you realize that when you don't even understand what flirting is?" Shishi yelled. He had just woken up in time o here what was going on with Kurama. Now that the brothers thought about it, he was right…

Jin just smirked, and gave them this evil look. "You never know!" Jin merely said and finished cleaning his scales.

'_Is he just acting like an oblivious fool?' _All the sea princes thought at once.

"Know what?" They all jumped at the new voice that suddenly appeared behind them. Turning around, they saw the one person they were just discussing.

"K-Kurama, how are you little brother?" Sasuka said with a hand on his chest. The said brother had almost given him a heart attack. '_Stealthy little jerk!'_

"Can't complain, so what are you all here for? It's quite common for some of you to bathe together, but for all of you to bathe at once is unusual… are you having one of your 'secret' meetings again?" Kurama said raising a brow. When his brother's eyes shifted nervously to one another's, he laughed and sat down on a stool. "Whatever, I'm just here for a quick shower anyway."

With that, he grabbed a cloth and started wiping himself. As he wiped, foam bubbles started to cover him with every stroke of the towel. He laughed slightly and covered his arms, chest and fin, trying to get every inch of himself.

"'Ere Kura, I'll get your back for ya!" Jin said and Kurama thanked his brother and turned around so Jin could scrub his back for him. It was the only spot he couldn't reach himself so he was grateful to his brother.

"Thanks Jin!" He said when Jin finished. Kurama looked like a foam monster as he swam over to a stall and closed a curtain behind him. Calmly, Kurama saw a handle and turned it to the right until it wouldn't go any further. There was a faint rumbling before a tide came down upon him.

Kurama gritted his teeth as the pouring water slammed onto his head; a shower in the merpeople's kingdom was not very enjoyable, but it got you clean easily. After a minute or so, Kurama Turned off the shower, and started to lather his hair with the same slimy substance Touya had used, only instead of picking it out, he turned on the shower again and let the tide wash it out of his hair for him.

After 3 minutes, Kurama exited the shower, very happy it was finally over. Though now he had trouble swimming strait.

"I'm…done now... continue on with your meeting…" Kurama said slowly. He was kind of dizzy so couldn't talk normally as well. Jin sighed and swam over to him. And put Kurama's arm over his shoulder.

"C'mon mate, your tired a' the moment so lemme 'elp ya navigate until you stop seein' 2 o' everythin'!" Jin announced cheerfully and Kurama just nodded.

Jin waved at his brothers with a grin and mouthed '_I am right_' and helped Kurama out the room. The rest of the brothers just stayed silent for a while as they all groomed themselves, until Shura spoke up again.

"Hey guys… do you think Jin is right about Kurama falling for someone?" He asked.

"…I think he is," Sasuka said and he put a brush down, which he was using for his hair. "Next to Youko, Jin knows the most about Kurama… I believe we should trust his judgment for the time being. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the rest of the Sea princes said at once. Even Shishiwakumaru mouthed it before glaring at the ground and looking away.

'_Whatever…'_

* * *

Kurama smiled as he swam down the hall. When he finally could swim straight he left Jin alone with Chu, which they had met on the way, to consider his next clue for Hiei. After 10 minutes of thinking in his room, he thought of one. In his own people's words, he wrote down one word on the water proof envelope '_Mermaid.' _Kurama smiled at the convenience. Though Humans, demons and Merpeople spoke the exact same way, their literature was completely different.

'_Though when Hiei see's this he'll only think it's a bunch of scribbles, that's what I also first thought when I opened my first human book…' _Kurama shuddered at the memory. In the end, Kurama got so frustrated with the book (or more in the fact he couldn't read it) that he ripped it to shreds with a whip. Thinking a little Kurama got an idea and started writing in human literature.

_Our languages are the same but our literature is completely different. If you can read this you'll figure out what I am…_

Kurama wrote above his first word. '_Perfect!' _He thought and he placed it inside his back pack. He usually carried around his bag so no one would suspect anything was in there. Looking up Kurama stopped swimming immediately and bowed deeply. For swimming towards him, was the sea queen.

The sea queen was beautiful, she had pale skin and purplish- pink eyes, her hair was somewhere between red and pink, it depended on the light really (I can't tell -.-U) and her crown was made of a very rare, violet coral, which was tilted on her head. She for cords around her waist and her breasts which were considered clothing underwater, yet they had a second use. The cords had tiny enchantments imprinted on them, so they could raise her water power abilities, with them she could make the most powerful shield the ocean ever saw. They also increased her attack strength and control.

Kurama had moved to the side of the hall to let her pass when he bowed, making sure to keep his head down to her. She absolutely hated it when he looked at her, and he understood. Not only was she upset that he was born as a bastard from a different woman with her own husband, but he had shown that he was stronger then some of her children, which were pure blooded royalty. To say she was disgusted by him was an understatement.

"Kurama Shuichi Minamino…" The queen said and she stopped when she was right in front of him. Shuichi was Youko's nick name for him but it was his middle name as well. Many people believed that's were Youko got it, she had also had used his mother's last name making him flinch. "What are you doing here? Did you not sense my presence? Or did you simply ignore it and swam closer to me so I could feel sick?" She said glaring. She was powerful, so much in fact that you could sense her from far away, and Kurama mentally slapped himself for not paying attention so he could avoid her.

"I'm sorry Lord Luka; I was preoccupied with my own thoughts and did not notice your energy. Please forgive my insolent behavior."

"…Why are you not wearing a shirt?" She said with an evil smile which Kurama didn't see.

"I feel more comfortable without it." Kurama replied monotonously

The queen glared at her eyes glowed slightly. Kurama felt something cut his chest and he cringed, it was definitely a form of water power (I really got to think of a better name for it, any suggestions?), at her level, she didn't need to use her hands to control it. "Appearance is more important then comfort; stupid child!" He felt her cutting more of him, on his shoulder, back, and arms. He made no sound during this and he was happy his bangs shielded his face from her view. She would only cut him worse if he showed pain.

She smirked as she watched the cuts bleed, '_that's enough for now…'_

"Remember Kurama, you are unworthy of anything due to your heritage. If you fall for someone, you will be sorry. For no one can love something like you!" With that, she left him and the guards followed behind her in silence, they would never reveal what had happened between the queen and prince.

As she turned the corner, Kurama glared at her. '_Think what you will witch,_ _I will listen to my __**mother's**__ advice, not yours! You will not scare me anymore!' _He thought venomously. She was the reason he was suicidal at a young age, but one day someone made him feel happier then he had in years and the depression ended… '_Now that I think back on it, I don't remember who that was or what he looked like… and wasn't that around the time I got interested human stuff? Oh well, I'll think about it later, after I treat these wounds.' _With that, Kurama headed to his room, where he secretly had a first aid kit for such situations.

* * *

-Sigh- Its so short! oh well, the plot will be more awesome next chapter.

On the bright side you now know the sea queen. Yaaay- I hate her... oh well, that's not what matters at the moment... maybe! I like the brothers though, but they seem out of character don't they, except Jin? Sorry about that. I hope yellow gorgonian coral is actually hard, or else I might look like an idiot now ;.

So, I know this chapter isn't my best work, bu could u please review. thank u . I'll love u more if u do!


	12. Bonus chapter

_**Bonus Chapter **_

_**Mother's day, for 2 loved children**_

Hello people who have continued to stick with me .

I decided to make an extra bonus chapter for mother's day. So it's just a side story which let's us see what Kurama and Hiei were like when they were little. The time frames for the 2 are a little different. Hiei's stor is a little after Kurama's yet the story formats are like that because I am god... well, sort of. Of this story I am.

Anyway, I'll just give out a reminder that at these ages they know nothing of each other, ok? And with Kurama, it was before he was taken away... they are so cute . And the plot related chapter is coming out soon... hopefully, just remind me not to get lazy, ok?

Exelent, now on with the fic, charge!

* * *

_**Hiei**_

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" A man yelled as he chased a 6 year old around a castle. The kid just made an evil smirk before turning a corner and started writing words on the wall with a spray can. The child couldn't stop running so he used messy handwriting as he ran about.

"Hn!" Was all the kid said before looking back to send an evil smirk back to the man. "Shut up stupid Shigure!" He yelled before bumping into someone. The said person smirked down at him before picking him up by his waist.

"Hello Hiei-chan, why are you defiling my castle with spray paint?" Ask a woman. Hiei just looked away and started struggling.

"PUT ME DOWN YOU GLASS EYED FREAK!! LEMME DOWN!" Hiei yelled and Mukuro smirked at him and just lifted him higher. Hiei really hated being lifted.

"HIEI! How dare you address queen Mukuro like that." Shigure yelled as he just ran up to them. Hiei just pouted and crossed his arms over his chest; not looking at either of them. "Now you're showing disrespect us both?! You little"-

"Don't worry Shigure, I'll think up a suitable punishment for my little bundle of trouble!" Mukuro said and put Hiei under her arm and she walked off with him who yelled the whole way.

Mukuro finally got to her office, opened the door and closed it behind the 2 of them. She literally dumped Hiei on a chair in front of her desk before sitting in her own across from him. "So Hiei, why'd you do it this time? You hardly ever cause this much trouble unless you have a valid reason." Hiei glared off to the side, but did something that Mukuro did not expect. He threw something at her that she caught with ease, something she lease suspect; a card.

"IT'S FOR THE STUPID NINGEN HOLIDAY; NOTHING ELSE!" With that, Hiei ran out the room, slamming the door on his way out. Mukuro looked surprised; Hiei hardly ever caused such a ruckus. Looking down, she noticed that it was a mother's day card. On the front was an adorable picture of a cat licking its kitten's head! She looked inside and smiled.

You believed in me when nobody else does, 

You strive for the most powerful, yet already are.

Being a mom must get in the way of all that;

Happy mother's day!

She laughed at Hiei's own comment at the bottom:

Yukina made me do this, so don't get a thick head you glass eyed freak!

Laughing to herself, she placed the card on the desk. "You're so sweet Hiei, getting into trouble so you could be alone with me. Then giving me a card; how cute." Smiling she got out some paper from her desk. "But that doesn't stop me from punishing you Hi-chan. I am after all, a very tough mom. But… it will be a lighter punishment then what you could've had." With that, Mukuro wrote down a 'punishment' she knew Hiei would enjoy; 24 hours of training with Shigure, Yusuke and herself. For every mother loved spending time with their children.

* * *

_**Kurama**_

"Mommy, are you feeling okay?" a small red head asked. The child was 4, yet in 2 weeks he would turn 5. Smiling, his mother turned around and opened her arms; inviting the little merchild into them. The red headed child smiled and swam into them quickly and nuzzled his head into her shoulder.

"I'm feeling fine my little Kura-chan. Just had a tough hunt is all." She comforted her child. The truth was Shiori was no stay at home cooking mother. No, she was the most famous and greatest hunter that was ever born in the ocean. However anything she hunted was used wisely, so that every part of her pray was used. That was the rule of the ocean: if you killed something, you had to make sure nothing was wasted.

"What was it?" Kurama asked as he clung tighter to his mom.

"It was a giant squid that was killing many merpeople and creatures without reason; a vicious killer. I donated the meat to the town it was terrorizing." She smiled at the amazed look her son gaze her.

"Momma you're incredible! I want to grow up to be brave like you." He said and Shiori just ruffled his hair.

"I'm sure you will, my little great white, but I want to explain something to you. Anything I do, anything I hunt has a reason to it. I also make sure there is an alternative to killing something if I can. Never, and I mean never, harm anyone for no reason. Not for money, not for personal gain, and never for sadistic pleasure. Killing should only be done when it is absolutely necessary. However, there are other forms of bravery that don't involve killing; and it always comes by speaking your mind, and following your heart."

Kurama looked at his mother in amazement before smirking. "Mommy that sounds cheesy!" He said and Shiori laughed and sat on a chair with him on her lap.

"Even so, it's true and that's what matters. To be honest, I could never hunt if I had no inspiration." Kurama looked up at his mother confused.

"What do you mean mommy? You're strong enough, so why not do it?"

"Because there would be no point; it's just be senseless killing. Do you know what my inspiration is?" Kurama shook his head and looked enen more confused. "Do you know what inspiration is?" Kurama shook his head again and hid his blush in his mother's chest. Laughing; Shiori just hugged her son and explained "It's alright dear; I'll explain it to you. An inspiration is like a meaning, or… a cause, an urge that forces you to do something. A reason is the best way to put it, like when you clean your room without me telling you to. Why do you do that?" Kurama was still blushing but he answered.

"Because… I don't really like mess, and… to make mommy happy. I don't want you to do extra work. Momma… you already do enough." Shiori smiled at her son's answer and stroked his hair.

"Then you could say I'm your inspiration, ne? Because of me you do something, I'm your inspiration t keep you cleaning. Am I right?" Blushing Kurama hid his head in his mom's chest again and nodded. "Well my inspiration, is to help people; to protect them. Especially you Kurama Shuichi Minamino… my little great white." Kurama smiled and relaxed on his mother, breathing in her scent.

"Mommy… I love you." He said and His mother smiled and rocked him back and forth.

"I love you too…" She felt tears build up in her eyes. '_In just 2 weeks… they'll come and take you from me, but__ you must be strong. Even though I'm not there. I love you, and I'd never want to give you up willingly. So I'll fight for you my baby great white…"_

"Mommy… could you sing to me?" He asked now feeling tired. Slowly Shiori just nodded her head.

"Of course… which one would you like?" Kurama yawned before he answered.

"… Stray child" He muttered and tucked his tail into his arms so he was comfortably laying on her lap.

"Yes, my little one. Anything for you." And with that, she started singing, until the red head fell into a comfortable sleep.

"..._I will find you again,_

_Kiss you for lonesome body…"_

I promise you Kurama… we will meet again, even though you'll be taken away, we will meet again. It's a promise…" With that, she kissed the sleeping merchild on the head, brought him upstairs to where his room was, and tucked him in his porifera bed, and gave him one last kiss good night. "Good night… Kura-chan."

hello, thank you for reading my fic . It might not be my best work, but It was kind of rushed since it was due today . Btw, this is donated to my mom, happy Mother's day mom.

Well bye bye, please review, and thanks once again -bows-


	13. Chapter 11

**_

* * *

_**

The Sea Prince  
Chapter 11

-huff puff, huff puff- Man I'm tired. sorry it took so long, the editing took longer then I thought it would --U. So once again I had to make u guys wait, sorry about that but at least u liked the bonus chapter ;. Unfortunately no one has voted on the second question on my profile for a while but hey, I'll survive TT-TT. Anyway, here is the... possibly long awaited plot chapter which everyone has been waiting for. I'm sorry if Kurama appears ooc near the end.

So yay, lets get started ne? Please review at the end.

* * *

Hiei clenched his fists as he reread the clue again. '_Same… language yet different literature...?' _"WHAT THE HELL! THERE'S ONLY ONE OTHER LANGUAGE THAT DOES THE SAME THING AND THIS NINGEN LANGUAGE ISN'T IT!" Hiei suddenly yelled and he slammed his fists on his desk. He had been going over the clue for 2 days now, and he still couldn't understand any of it. The other clue Kurama had left was just as difficult.

'_We look human, yet we never drown, we look demon yet can not breathe. No one believes in us!'_

"Now giving me a whole new form of literature to figure out, it's like looking at a different language… I'm tempted to kill him. Next time I'm informing him to be less vague." Hiei stated, then he sighed in annoyance. From a species which know one cares to acknowledge to a new form of literature.Swell!

"Yo, what happened this time Hiei? Is deciding taxes for the kingdom more difficult then you anticipated?" A snide female voice asked from his door. Hiei just glared at the intruder but Mukuro only smiled and walked in; picking up a piece of paper on her way in. "I could help you if you wished Hiei. After all you are my heir, it's only natural that you ask for assistance when necessary." Mukuro read over the paper before placing it back on his desk.

"Hn, I don't need your help. I'm doing fine on my own," Hieisaid as he hid the notes in his desk. He had not told anyone about Kurama since no one had believed him the first time. If they didn't believe him once then they wouldn't believe him again; even though he did have written proof.

Mukuro saw him hide something from her but she decided not to pry, _'I'll do that later' _she reasoned with a smirk. "Well, okay then; But try not to give Koenma a heart attack again by sending him 600 things that need both your signature and his." She said before walking away.

"I won't…" Hiei said and smirked as she closed the door. "It'll be 700 this time!" He said evilly. After that he looked at the clues again and he sighed. If he wanted to figure the clues out he would need to do research on it. '_Then I shall find out what you are Kurama…' _Hiei vowed silently before looking over the taxes again. '_… This job sucks!'_

* * *

Kurama laughed as Youko dragged him away from the castle. He he had been wearing a shirt recently because the wounds that the sea queen inflicted were still healing and bandaged up, and Kurama always hid his injuries from her.

"Hurry up Shu-chan; I have something to give you today." Youko said impatiently. "Well actually it's from the carp and me, but he's not here right now… stupid fish," Youko growled in annoyance. He and Kuwabara had worked hard to move the gift to Kurama's hideout, and now he wasn't even showing up for Shuichi's surprise.

"Sorry about that, it must be something about me…" Kurama said quietly, but Youko's large fuzzy ears heard him and he stopped and turned to the redhead.

"What was that Shu? Explain, now!" Youko ordered. Kurama grimaced under Youko's powerful stare so he got to the point.

"Kuwabara-kun was telling me that he wanted to show me something too when my father's messenger, Yuta-san the seahorse, said that Kuwabara had to see Yomi-sama at once. I tried to ask him what he wanted but he said he wasn't aloud to tell me. So I took into account that Kuwabara is my best friend, and knows a lot about me; and since he doesn't want me to know about the topic, it was most likely about me. Does that make sense?" Kurama asked and Youko nodded.

"I understand; basically by not telling you who he was talking about, it means he was talking about you. Or else there would be no reason not to tell, right?"

"Exactly," Kurama said smiling. "However, I'm kind of worried about Kuwabara-kun, he has a bad habit of getting nervous and blurting stuff out when he's under pressure." Youko smiled and put an arm around the redhead's shoulder.

"Relax Shu-chan; I'm sure he won't do anything too stupid." Youko coaxed and Kurama smiled before his eyebrows met in confusion.

"What do you mean by 'too stupid'?"

"He's Kazuma Kuwabara; he's bound to do something stupid that he shouldn't have!" Kurama laughed at that and playfully hit Youko and they both laughed. "Well enough about fools, time for a surprise!" Youko said and he tugged Kurama's arm hard and started to drag him again.

"Ow! Yomi-san is right, about something…" Kurama muttered. '_You are too old to act like this.'_

"I heard that…" Youko growled and he stopped so he could punch Kurama on the head.

"OW!"

"You can't deal with pain at all can you?" Youko smirked while he continued to drag the red head.

"Shut up; you punch hard." Kurama yelled as he rubbed his head with his other hand. Youko just smirked and just kept dragging the prince. '_Where are you fool? You're missing your 1 chance to see Shuichi's reaction when he sees the gift. I swear I'm going to swat your fin later on for missing this… but on the other hand-' _Youko glanced back at Kurama for a moment. _'I get to be alone with Shuichi while he's happy. Okay, Kuwabara I will forgive you!'_Youko laughed quietly to himself, enjoying his moment alone with the red head.

* * *

Kuwabara gulped nervously as Yuta knocked on the door to Yomi's office.

"Enter," he heard Yomi command and Yuta pushed open the door… or at least tried to. He was such a tiny sea horse that he could push with all his fins strength, and only crack open the door a little.

"…Um, do you need any help?" Kuwabara asked and the sea horse stopped pushing and slouched over so he could catch his breath.

"I'm not as young as I use to be…" Yuta gasped and looked moved to the side. Kuwabara understood and pushed open the door with his head and entered, Yuta followed soon after.

Yomi was sitting behind his desk with his eyes closed; though it was obvious to anyone that he was amused with the little seahorse. "Having door troubles again Yuta? Should I make it lighter for you? After all you come in and out the most; I could even make you a smaller door embedded in my own for you if you wished." Yomi said while smiling. Yuta merely looked away.

"My lord, I do not need any such thing… though I do enjoy that mini door plan." Mr. Yuta said and both he and Yomi smiled. "Ahem, Kuwabara-san is now here, as requested by you, Yomi-sama." Mr. Yuta said, getting professional.

"Thank you Yuta-san, you may take your leave now." Yomi said kindly and the door opened so Mr. Yuta could get out. Mr. Yuta smiled as he calmly swam out the door, while Kuwabara gaped at the amazing control of water power Yomi had. He didn't even need to try, let alone use his hands, and the control was amazing.

"Well Kuwabara-san, I believe this is the first time we havetalked alone." Yomi calmly stated and Kuwabara tensed. Stiffly, Kuwabara turned to the Sea king, who was looking at him with amusement in his now opened eyes.

"U-u-u-u-u-um, my lord… what is it that you need from me?" Kuwabara asked nervously, he had never talked to such a high status person before. Yomi just smiled and flexed his wrist and 2 fingers in a 'come closer' motion; slowly, Kuwabara complied.

"I've been hearing some interesting things about my youngest son lately, things that make him sound… peculiar. Have you noticed anything different?" Yomi started off, smirking. Kuwabara paled slightly _'Does he know? NO, I must stay calm, for Kurama's sake!"_

"Peculiar? I haven't noticed anything different." Kuwabara answered as calmly as he could, which was pretty calm for once.

"Is that so?" Yomi had another smirk on as he closed his eyes and Kuwabara's fin started shaking. _'This is the reason I called him rather then Youko. It's going to be so much easier to get information out of him, rather then that cursed crab… also I hate that crab!' _Yomi thought angrily, however he stayed calm for Kuwabara's sake. "Are you sure Kuwabara-san? You haven't noticed anything; the singing, his vanity improvement, the cheerfulness… him showing up on time?"

Kuwabara gulped, scared now. "Well I"-

"Kuwabara-san," Yomi said cheerfully interrupting him. Kuwabara could only grimace. "I know that you're trying to hide something quite important." Kuwabara trembled slightly. "Some thing about my son… in love? I heard it from Risho during one of our discussions on running the ocean. So who is the lucky merman? Or is it a mermaid…could it be-"

"HE DOESN'T KNOW ANY BETTER!! HE'S STILL YOUNG!" Kuwabara hollered; he didn't want Kurama to get into trouble. "I KNOW I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HIM BUT I COULDN'T! HE'S TOO FAST AND HIEI"-

"Who's Hiei!" It wasn't asked like a question like the rest, this was an order. And Kuwabara froze when he realized his mistake.

"Um… just a normal merman…" Kuwabara suddenly felt his head go numb and he closed his eyes. '_My head feels weird…kind of like when Youko…probes… my'- _Kuwabaraopened his eyes in shock then tried to fight the numb feeling. For that only happened when someone was going through your thoughts, and right now, Yomi was doing that to him!

"…DEMONS! WHAT ABOUT THIS DEMON!!" Yomi suddenly hollered and Kuwabara felt defeated. '_I'm to late… please forgive me Kurama. I didn't mean to…'_

"Tell me every thing, now!" Yomi ordered and his eyes were glowing purple in anger.

* * *

"Youko are we there yet?" Kurama asked. For 5 minutes Youko had been leading him somewhere with his eyes covered, and at random times he would even spin him around before leading him on again, just so he had no idea where he was.

"Just about…" Youko said and he smiled when he saw the rock which blocked Shuichi's favorite hiding place. "Close your eyes for a moment!" Kurama sighed but did as he was told and Youko quickly moved the boulder out of the way before heading back and pushing Kurama into the cave. He closed the door behind them. "Okay Shu-chan, open up!" He said happily.

Kurama opened his eyes but it was dark. Confused; He made some light out of the water and gasped when the whole room lit up. He was in his hide out with all his human stuff, and right below his fishing net in the middle of the room, was the statue of Hiei he had seen on the ship.

"Surprise!" Youko whispered in his ear and Kurama smiled and turned around and wrapped his arms around his neck in a back breaking hug. "Ack"-

"YOU ARE THE BEST!! I love it, how you get it? THIS IT THE BEST GIFT EVER!" Kurama laughed and Youko started to turn blue from the lack of oxygen. After yelling out praises to Youko for a while, and hugging him even harder Youko finally grabbed Kurama's arms and pulled them off his neck. "Ah! Sorry Youko!" Kurama yelled as Youko leaned against the wall, one arm was supporting him as he gasped for breath.

"Just… Glad you liked it!" Youko said after taking one last long breath and turning back to the young prince. "Though next time we get so close, I expect a kiss." Youko said and winked at the redhead who blushed slightly.

"Um…" Kurama really had no idea how to respond to that.

"I'm just messing with you." Youko said noticing how flustered Kurama had become. The Prince relaxed and sighed, turning back to the statue.

"Do you think I should return it to Hiei?" Kurama asked and Youko fell over at that comment.

"WHAT!! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT CARP AND I WORKED TO GET IT IN HERE!!" Youko yelled and Shuichi hid behind the statue of Hiei.

"I'm sorry! It has nothing to do with that though! I love it, and love how you and Kuwabara-kun would do this for me… it's just that, in a way; this feels like stealing, and almost stalking. I also don't know if he wants it back…" Kurama explained to Youko.

Youko thought back to when Hiei saw the statue. "Shuichi, trust me on this one; he **_really _**doesn't want it back!" Youko stated, thinking back on the disgusted look Hiei had sent the stoned being.

"But"-

"Let's make a deal Shu-chan! You can write your sexy, young, prince a letter and tell him that you have his birthday gift from that… Yusuke person unless I'm mistaken, then ask him if he wants it back. Here's where we make a bet; If he accepts the gift back, then I'll return let's say… a third of my treasure to the ocean. However if I win and he says no, then you must show yourself to him."

Kurama shook his head. "No way! Hiei and I made a deal that he could have 3 guesses before I showed myself to him again, especially since he didn't see my fin." Kurama said and waved his fin in front of Youko, making the fuzzy eared merman smile.

_'So cute...' _"Okay then, how about a kiss?" Youko said with a smirk and Kurama blushed deep red.

"Wha-what?" He asked and hid behind he stone Hiei some more.

"You heard me. The first kiss of a prince is what I want, and the rest have had their lips stolen by a suitor or some crazed stalker... except for Jin who beat up anyone who tried. However, the fact is, I want **your **first kiss." Youko smirked as Kurama hid so well behind the stone that he couldn't even see him anymore.

'_Well… a kiss is more then fair I guess… If I win I could regain a large part of the kingdoms wealth back. Still…' _He blushed at the thought of being kissed by Youko. '_I guess I'll have to, the positive results surpass the negative.' _"Alright Youko, I accept your challenge. But…what exactly do you have in mind?" Kurama asked. Youko's eyes suddenly had a spark in them.

"Oh, just a little thing the human's call a French kiss, don't worry about it." Youko said and Shuichi nodded and sighed in relief.

'_It's so cute that's he's blissfully oblivious.'_

Kurama relaxed against the statue, completely happy since he met Hiei and talked to him on the beach. '_Things are finally looking up for me, thank goodness…' _Kurama thought and smiled at the statue and turned to face it looking into its eyes. '_And it's all thanks to you, thank you Hiei.'_

Youko relaxed and leaned against the wall. '_Victory for me-'_ Just then, he felt a searing pain in his chest that made him fall forward onto the ground.

"Youko what's wrong?" Kurama yelled as he swam up to him. He tried holding him up, but Youko pushed him away as he turned into a crab. "Youko!?" Kurama yelled and picked Youko up. '_Wait, Youko can only be forced into this form when Yomi is near.' _Gasping he whipped around to the entrance to come face to face with the Sea king. "Yomi…"

"Kurama, I have set rules for you, and have always been against the land walkers beyond anything else." Yomi stated angrily getting strait to the point.

"Yes but"-

"Kurama, is it true that you saved a human from drowning?"

"No it isn't Yomi."

"DON'T LIE TO ME KURAMA!" Yomi yelled and Kurama put his arms in front of him to block a current that exploded off Yomi.

"I'm not lying to you Yomi-sama! I have never come in any contact with humans, yet I have with a demon!" Kurama explained, hoping Yomi would calm down. Unfortunately he didn't.

"That doesn't matter, that barbarian is disgusting and horrible! How many times do I have to tell you these things? Creatures like him are spoiled and rotten, which have no understanding for the balances of this world-"

"Yomi that's not true! Demons are fully aware of the balances in life, humans needed them to guide them so-"

"Enough! I'm not going to stand for those types of things anymore! I have heard enough of you're stupid and unrealistic views of life! So I'll set you strait right now: Humans are trash on the world, and anything that works with them is trash as well-"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

"DO NOT INTERRUPT ME CHILD!" A wave exploded from him that threw Kurama back into a wall, causing some of the cuts under his shirt to reopen. "These things over consume and destroy constantly, HOW CAN YOU BE INTERESTED IN THEM? THEY'RE WORSE THEN DEMONS!"

Kurama grunted a little as he got up. Placing Youko on one of his shelves, Kurama straightened up. "To be honest I'm not quite sure why I'm interested with humans. As you said; they can't really understand the basics of nature on their own, however," Kurama looked right into Yomi's closed eyes. "I love demons! They are violent, cruel and powerful; true. But they also are sophisticated and have strong emotions that they often can't show. That's why humans need them to guide them, as long as demons are the most powerful species on land, humans are not in control. That's what I love about them; they're like sharks in a way. They keep everything under control, especially the humans." Youko looked up in shock at Kurama.

'_Shuichi, so that's why… You are the first person who ever under stood the power struggle between those 2, and similarities between the 3 worlds. Shuichi, why is it that you are the only smart person under the sea?' _Youko thought sadly as he looked up.

"It doesn't matter, you are forbidden from returning to the surface, or to contact the thing up there and if you do, I will personally make sure that the creature-"

"Hiei."

"What?" Yomi asked his son who was glaring at his father (which he still hasn't called dad).

"I will not stand for you to call him anything other then his name; it's Hiei, future lord of Alaric."

"WHO CARES?" Yomi yelled

"I CARE!" Kurama yelled back just as angrily, there were waves coming off him as well and Youko quickly hid behind something. In his present form, he would quickly be killed by the 2 mermen.

"And why, may I ask, would you care for such a pathetic creature? He is just another one of your test subjects after all."

"YOU'RE WRONG; my relationship with Hiei is completely different!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

"HE'S MY FRIEND, I LOVE HIM!"

Youko gasped in shock and Yomi's eyes opened in surprise, for a moment he was lost for words, and then Kurama gasped in shock, understanding his mistake.

'_Oh god, what have I done? Is this even how I feel?' _Kurama thought. Glancing back at the statue, realization hit him '_I do...'_

"Have you lost all pride as a merman, AS A SEA PRINCE? YOU ARE A MERMAN; HE'S A LAND WALKER- THE 2 WORLDS THAT ARE NEVER MEANT TO COEXIST WITH EACH OTHER!"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT! I've had it with those meaningless suitors you have sent for, and so are the rest of my brothers. I want to actually feel this way for someone, NO MATTER WHICH SPECIES!"

"Is that so? Kurama; I was hoping that it wasn't going to come to this, but you have left me no other choice! I will get through to you, no matter what." With that said, the trident started to give out dark energy and Kurama's eyes opened in shock and he quickly got into a defense position while shaping the water into his favorite weapon; The Shard Whip (god help us I'm bad at names TT-TT why is it no one has given me suggestions?).

Yomi sent a beam of energy at some of Kurama's shelves, Kurama thought ahead and brought the whip down on the lord's hands, forcing the king to let go in pain. The blast stopped just centimeters from the shelves; for the trident and its power were only affective when someone was physically holding it.

Yomi glared at Kurama, who got the glowing whip ready, and thorn like shards started to appear on it.

"How dare you go against your father's wishes? YOU UNGRATEFUL CHILD," Yomi then just lifted his hand and a fierce tide suddenly went at Kurama. Gasping, the redhead tried to counter with his own tide but it wasn't nearly strong enough and Kurama was throne back into the wall again, making a large crater. Kurama coughed up blood as many of his possessions fell around him.

Yomi wasn't done, using quick hands; he formed ice around Kurama's hands, neck, and most of his fin, leaving only his gills untouched. Kurama tried to counter but it was far to fast, and before he could do anything, h was chained to the wall by ice. Kurama tried to struggle, but he couldn't even move; because he was still so young he could not use his water power unless he could most his at least 1 part of his body. Defeated Kurama could only hang on the wall, while pain vibrated through his entire body.

"You know you're nothing compared to me, yet you still tried to resist using such a basic technique. Fool, I admit that was an original weapon made by you, and I am impressed with the Shard Whip, but using it against me was pathetic. It's time you learn your place child."

"Please…don't…" was all Kurama could manage but he felt the ice around his neck push his chin up, forcing him to watch Yomi and the destruction of his home. Yomi then picked up his trident, which started giving off a dark light again.

The color of the trident changed from a black purple to a golden color in a moment and with the lovely color, a power of destruction was released around the room. Kurama watched as blasts of energy destroyed one object after another, as shelves broke and slammed into others, as object he studied over for years exploded in front of his very eyes, and books he spent so much time learning about were blasted into pieces. He even saw a book of sign language be shredded into pieces; it took him so many years to understand and learn about that.

As he watched more and more his cries of protest got louder and louder, he even struggled against his bind more as he attempted to escape. Neither he nor Yomi noticed the cracks in the ice as he begged Yomi to stop.

Finally Yomi turned to the statue of Hiei and aimed his trident. Kurama's eyes opened wider then they ever had and with one last protest broke threw the ice that bound him to the wall. "STOP!" He yelled with all his might, but it was too late, by the time he escaped, Yomi had sent one last beam of light from the trident with only the thought of destroying on his mind. He never heard a word of his son's final protest as he sent the power of the trident into the statue, causing it to explode right in front of the sea prince's eyes.

Kurama couldn't stand it and sadly sunk to the ground with his tail bent under him, his out stretched hands, were now trembling as he stayed there on the ground, and slumped into a sitting position. The destroyed ruins that were so important to him now surround his hurting form. He was so destroyed from the emotional and physical damage, that he couldn't even lift his head. His arms were the only thing which stopped his shaking form from collapsing to the ground.

Yomi turned and saw his son out of his binds and he gasped. It was almost impossible for merchildren so young to use any kind of water power when they couldn't move; it was a flaw in water power. Clearing his throat Yomi decided to speak. "Now that you understand, you should realize that the land walkers are just a bunch of scrum right?"

"Shut up…" Kurama whispered quietly, but Yomi just continued.

"As you saw, there was no point in trying to preserve such useless stuff; it all was wasted; just like the humans.

"Leave me alone…" Kurama whispered sadly. He couldn't even correct the king even more.

"Hmph, Kurama, if you can't realize that the demon you loved is worthless then what can I do about you? Why do you refuse to understand-" But Yomi found himself unable to him criticize anymore. For there was one thing that Kurama never did, one thing that he never showed, which broke Yomi's heart right there; Kurama had never cried.

Yet right now unable to stand it any more, Kurama slowly lifted his head, showing his defeated eyes with tears falling from them. The tears of the merpeople were much different from those on land. When the merpeople cried, it was the color of pearls, and they never touched the ground. They just floated around, like bubbles. Unlike actual bubbles though, they never floated to the surface of the water, they just bobbed up and down at the same height until they popped and disintegrated back into a special dust. No one really knew how it worked, because no one thought it was too important, they were just tears after all.

Yomi watched as the pearls floated around Kurama until Kurama lowered his head again and started to actually cry hard. Youko watched in pain from behind a broken vase. He clenched his claws together and glared at Yomi, sending him a message. _'__I warned you Yomi, when I am free of this curse; I'm going to kill you for hurting Shuichi so much. Mark my words Yomi, your end will be by me!'_Youko growled in Yomi's head. Yomi didn't have the heart to respond and he slowly swam out of the cave, cursing himself for what he had done.

Youko tried to swim towards Kurama. "Shuichi…" He said trying to get the prince's attention. But the prince only stiffened, then continued to cry. "Shuichi… please speak to me." Yomi said softly, and he slowly landed on the ground and walked towards him.

"Just go away." Shuichi said while looking away. Youko tried to say something again but Kurama just whipped his head at him and yelled, "GET AWAY FROM ME YOU STUPID CRAB! I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE YOU!" A small tide pulsed of Kurama and Youko flew backwards and landed on the dirt not to far away. Youko looked up sadly at the prince who gasped and looked away as more tears fell.

"We'll… talk later…" Youko said quietly and he left the cave through the same exit as Yomi, while looking back. Kurama had fallen to the ground and had curled up like a dog would; only he was sobbing. Youko's felt worse as he watched the sad sight and he swam away again. '_This was supposed to be a happy day for him, not the worse day of his life.'_

Youko swam out of the cave and saw that the rock had been moved out of the way for him already. On his way out he saw Kuwabara, who looked like he had been crying as well. Of course there was no tear since he was a fish, but by his facial expression, you could tell he was crying. Youko glared and swam up to him, and grabbed both of his fins. "HOW COULD YOU HAVE TOLD HIM KUWABARA? THIS WAS SUPPOSE TO BE SHUICHI'S FINEST HOUR, NOT WORSE. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?" He yelled and Kuwabara glared and yelled back.

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO! I WOULD NEVER HURT KURAMA IN ANY WAY. I just… I-I flubbed up okay? I told Yomi Kurama saw a guy called Hiei, but I never said he was a demon. Yomi read my mind before I could make up an excuse on time. Then he told me to tell him the whole story or else…" Kuwabara told him. Youko sighed and looked away.

"So you told him, did you?"

"No, I said I was a man…well, male carp, and that I would keep my friend's secret until I died. But that just made him angry and he read my mind through force; no matter what I tried, I couldn't stop him and he learned everything anyway…" Kuwabara said sadly and Youko let go of his fins and landed on the rocks.

"I'm sorry for accusing you Kuwabara-san; I know you would never try to hurt Shuichi." He said and sadly looked up with a forced smile, and Kuwabara just laid down on the cold ocean floor. "I'm so sorry, I never mean for that to happen it's all-"

"Not your fault." Youko said and he glared up at the carp. "It's partly mine for not saving Shuichi in time, it's Yomi's fault for not listening, and some fault is on your blabbing… but, I'd say it's everyone's fault for not stepping up to get them to talk and understand each other sooner. It's everyone's fault, even the victim has some blame on him sometimes, but not this time."

Kuwabara nodded, "yeah, and we're gonna do everything we can to help Kurama through this right?"

"Right!" Youko said and they shook fins/claws on it.

* * *

"_The time to act is now, so remember; lure him into this, as if he had a choice. We have to make this look as if this is for the boy's own benefit. So don't rush and screw it up." _The Toguro brothers nodded in union, they had a plan to capture the young prince, and were not going to ruin it. After all, if they screw it up Karasu will either kill them, or sadistically torture them. Either way it would be bad.

Slowly, the 2 swam down from the ceiling, descending like snakes in the water. Kurama noticed the change in light and he wiped away his tears in his eyes and slowly looked up.

"Such a poor thing, isn't he little brother? Tortured by his own father, betrayed by his own friends; don't you feel pity?" The older one started.

"Yes Aniki, it is horrible."

"Don't you wish as well that we could do something?"

"No, I think we should do something; something that will help the young thing. After all, I'm tired at looking at the pathetic state."

"Who are you 2?" Kurama suddenly asked and put his arms up in a defensive position.

"We are the Toguro brothers, from the electric eel clans. We often search for people who are hurting, and depressed. When we saw you, we noticed right away how much you were bleeding from the inside, and we wanted to see what people thought about you. After talking around, he heard many sad and terrible tales. Like how you wee forcibly taken from your mother-"

"Or how you're always looked down on-" The younger eel interrupted.

"And many other stories that made our hearts break. We were just coming down to try and offer you assistance, when we saw Yomi destroying your sacred space." Kurama looked down again and closed his eyes before glaring up at them

"I'm sorry, but even though you came all this way to help me; there is nothing you can do. I'm sorry for being harsh, but no matter what you would do to cheer me up it wouldn't work, I don't think there is anything that can. Again I am sorry, but when word gets out, I will be the most hated person in the ocean." Kurama stated.

"Oh my but what would you do, if we told you we knew someone who could stop the pain. And make sure that you and your true love together forever." Kurama looked at the oldest eel confused before the younger one clarified.

"We wish to make sure you and prince Hiei get together, forever!" Kurama gasped and looked confused.

"Our master has all sorts of powers; I know he would be willing to help such a fine beauty like you." The older one insisted.

"But how…and who is this 'master' that you speak so highly of?" Kurama said suspiciously. He was not sure why, but he had a sense that these 2 should not be trusted. He also thought it was strange that they would go so far for him. He could swear they sounded as if they stalked him.

"Our master is a wise yet powerful person who had been banished long ago. His name though is Karasu, yet he has a title that gives everything the wrong idea about him. He is called the sea demon." '_Ya right, that is the right title for the jerk!'_ The older thought annoyed. For he and his younger brother had made a deal with the demon long ago. They had gotten what they wished, but the exchange annoyed the 2.

"The Sea Demon!" Kurama said shocked. He had heard many terrible rumors about that thing, yet no one had told him about Karasu's vow long ago. "I CAN'T, LEAVE ME ALONE" Kurama hollered as he backed away from the eels.

Elder Toguro got annoyed and was just about to say something when younger Toguro intervened. "We understand; we just wanted to help after all…" He said and he hit a flat stone at Kurama. It landed just in front of him and the prince gasped, it was a piece of the statue, to be specific: Hiei's eyes. "I just hope the land walker who was so precious to you can deal with the emotional blow when he realizes that you'll never talk to him again. But I suppose a prince's reputation is more important then his love for another, and their possible return." Those words stabbed Kurama like a knife.

While staring into the eyes, he remembered the slight hurt in Hiei's eyes when he thought that for a brief moment, that Kurama didn't exist. He had told Hiei that he wished to be his friend, so why would he abandon him now?

"Wait!" Kurama called out to the retreating eels. They turned to see the Prince; arm outstretched as if reaching out to them for help. The fish had taken the bait.

* * *

"I'm still angry though!" Youko said annoyed and he crossed his claws and turned his back on Kuwabara.

"I SAID I WAS SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO TELL!" Kuwabara yelled a bit scared and angry and the same time.

"True, but because of you I was forced back into this, and it takes a while to turn back you know." Youko said coldly while referring to his crab form.

"Well sorry for damaging your stupid pride."

"You're not forgiven!"

"I WAS BEING SARCAS-huh?" Kuwabara stopped yelling as a shadow just swam by and covered them. Youko looked up in confusion and his eyes widened in shock as he saw Kurama following 2 electric eels just above them.

"KURAMA-"

"SHUICHI," Both Youko and Kuwabara yelled at once and Youko grabbed Kuwabara's fin as the carp took off (He's not very fast in that form as you might have guessed). Kuwabara caught up to him and tried talking to the young prince, "Kurama who are these 2 eels? Where are you going?" Kurama didn't even look at him when he replied.

"These are the Toguro brothers, and I'm headed toward Karasu's home!" Youko gasped and grabbed Kurama's fin.

"NO SHUICHI! Don't go to that mad man, what ever he promised is not worth it"-

"Then you 2 might as well tell my father, huh Kuwabara? You always were good at blurting out my secrets. And Youko, you might as well stalk me as usual, because the hot headed lord will be angry if you don't, and anyway, he just wants to protect me right?" Kurama said angrily. Youko let go, and Kuwabara stopped and Kurama swam faster ahead.

"Come on, we have to save him." Kuwabara said and he went under Youko who was still recovering from the blow.

"…Right," was all the ex-thief could say, as he was carried away.

* * *

Kurama swallowed loudly when he saw Karasu's lair. There was a skeleton of a giant squid at the entrance, which seemed to lead into caves that led deep underground. Just looking at it, gave him a bad feeling. _'Maybe this isn't such a good idea…' _He thought shivering a little.

"Come this way, young Sea Prince?" The older one said and they went through one of the tentacles of the dead squid. Kurama stalled for a moment, before taking in a deep breath, and forcing himself to fallow the eels. It only got scarier as he entered the cave. It was very dark, but there was just enough light so he could see everything around him. When he got to a certain point, he gasped when he saw mermaids and mermen alike, all carved in stone, with the most terrified and horrible expressions carved into their faces. '_It feels like I'm going to meet Medusa…' _Kurama thought as he swam through the caves.

When they were almost there, he gasped when he saw brown creatures all around him. The eels just swam by as if nothing was there, but Kurama could only float where he was for a second, as the seaweed like creatures talked. He saw their terrified eyes, and all the heads facing him. He couldn't make out what they said, but he knew that they were trying to warn him of something, telling him to save himself. He yelled out in shock when 1 shot out and wrapped around his arm, while trying to pull him back. Before more could jump out and do the same; Kurama swam forward as fast as he could, shocking the poor creature and forcing it to let go. Kurama did not stop swimming until he couldn't hear the poor creatures anymore.

When Kurama finally slowed down, he looked back and sighed in relief when he couldn't see the brown seaweed like creatures anymore. Looking forward Kurama slowly began to swim again. The Toguro brothers were no longer in sight but he didn't see any other tunnel, so he suspected that they could not be too far ahead.

Seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, Kurama knew that Karasu could not be far ahead. So he calmly swam forward, thinking that the surprises were finally finished. Unfortunately there was one left…

Kurama almost yelled when his arms were suddenly grasped from behind. Kurama was forcibly turned around and he almost screamed in fear. The thing that grabbed him had part of his head split open with some brain leaking out. It was covered in algae and shells both oyster and clams. What could be seen of his skin was covered in large cuts and scars, all of which seemed to be infected. However, he also had long black hair and giant pointy ears.

"Do not fall for it. Run away, before he gets you. Whatever your problems are, they won't be fixed! RUN- RUN AWAY! GET OUT OF HERE! DON'T FALL FOR IT!" Kurama tried to get out of the monster's grip but found the thing to strong. He continued to struggle as the thing tried to get him away. The creature itself was attached to the wall, by something black coming out of his back. Kurama didn't know what that was, but he was in such a panicked state that he hardly noticed.

A bomb suddenly exploded on the thing's body, causing it to let go of the prince, it screamed in pain as 2 long grey arms went around the prince and pulled him backwards. Kurama was held against someone's strong, yet lean chest as he was dragged backwards and into a different room entirely.

A shell suddenly went up from underground and blocked out the monster from sight. Kurama could only shake while the arms steadied him and held him close in a comforting hug.

"Are you alright, little prince?" Kurama stiffened at the voice. It was deep, and highly hypnotizing. Slowly Kurama turned his head until he was looking right into Karasu's violet, dark eyes. "Forgive my rudeness, but we have not been properly introduced. My name is Karasu, the sea demon. I called you here, so I could help you, my sweet little Prince."

**End Chapter**

* * *

Yaaaay, that took forever to write. I'm sorry about Karasu's lair, but I wanted to make it extra creepy, and if anyone is wondering how Kurama knows about Medusa, it's because he read about her in a ningen book.

So, please review and reply, and I'll warn u now that that creepy guy at the end is not an OC! Anyone wanna guess who -? well please enjoy and review. Sorry again if Kurama seemed a bit ooc at the end. -bows-


	14. WARNING! Pay attention!

Hello, I must of scared some of you when I put up this warning, but I ashore you; everything is fine ...except not completely ;

OK, Truth is that I'm going on a trip for 2 weeks, and the next chapter is not complete yet, sorry about that. So I'm taking a 2 week long vacation, again sorry, and the next chapter will show up a week or so after that. But I find it unfair to leave you all with nothing (I'm going tomorrow BTW) so I decide to leave you all a quick preview of the next chapter. Hope you enjoy, see you all in 2 weeks .

bye-byyyye!

Preview:

'No one has ever apologized to me before… he's so polite; I love him more by the second…' Karasu thought as he watched Kurama, an evil smirk crossed his face as he swam towards Kurama, yet his mask kept it hidden from view. 'He's also my type, so young and cute…and he's much more beautiful up close; it makes me want to ravish him right on the spot. But I have to contain my self for now! If I act too quickly, my plan will be ruined, and I will everything I worked so hard for. Besides… if I wait just a little longer, he will be more depressed then ever, making him far more ripe then he is now.'

"It's alright young prince, my appearance is quite… unusual, and so everyone jumps at first." Karasu said smiling kindly down at Kurama as he lifted the boy's chin. 'Just beautiful…'

"I see, I'm sorry about that, but I think that your form is actually quite interesting. I especially love your tale; it's really different, like a great white's." Kurama said thinking out loud. He smiled and Karasu twitched. Being compared to a great white was a huge compliment in the ocean.

'…Containing myself might be harder then I first thought…

_:End Preview ! OK see you guys later..._

On second thought, I'll miss you guys, so I'll leave you one more preview.

:"Well well, little brother; look what we have here. A carp and a crab that's trying to disturb our master's hard work." The older eel said as he swam above Kuwabara and Youko. The 2 glared at the eels who swam just above them.

"So what if we are? We want to help out our friend, is that a crime?" Kuwabara asked, and for once he wasn't showing any fear as the 2 eels continued to circle them from above.

"Yes of course, that boy is good business to the sea demon, so unfortunately for you, we won't let you help him." The older said, and the younger, who was surprizingly bigger then his older brother, just nodded. "So unfortunately, you must DIE!" and the younger swept down, as Youko and Kuwabara got ready to fight.

'_This might take a while, and time is of the essence. Damn you Karasu!'_

_:End preview_

And that's it. Sorry again, but I'm going to have fun on my trip. See you later guys, have a fun summer. -

-waves and bows-


	15. Chapter 12

**The Sea Prince  
****Chapter 12**

Yo, long time no see . Sorry I'm late...again...but there's nothing new with that haha-it's not funny --U

Sorry about that, I got into a slump for about a week after I came back, and then there is no excuse. However, I did take a day to finally know where the story is going to go from here hurray! So here's another chapter, it appearently is about 23 pages acording to micro soft word, so it's a big one. I'm also sorry, but I havn't edited it as much as the other's, but I hope it's still ok. Remember to tell me if I didn't do a good job or if I didn't.

So my final note for now is; I hope u enjoy this, and my trip went well. I had lot's of fun .

* * *

Kurama just stared into the violet eyes which had an unknown emotion in them. He had seen that look many times before but never understood its meaning. It was something terrifying though, that made him petrified in those cold, grey, scaly arms. However the expression suddenly changed, and nothing but concern filled the eyes of the sea demon.

"Are you all right young prince? Did that person scare you?" Kurama slightly blushed at the other's voice. Although it was deep and seducing, it only expressed kindness and concern for his well fair. Kurama suddenly felt guilty for staring.

"Yes…" Kurama swam out of the sea demon's grasp and turned to face him; "I'm sorry for staring, it was rude of me; please forgive my insolence." Kurama said and he bowed to Karasu who looked shocked.

'_No one has ever apologized to me before… he's so polite; I love him more by the second,' _Karasu thought as he watched Kurama. An evil smirk crossed his face as he swam towards Kurama, yet his mask kept it hidden from view. '_He's also my type, so young and cute… he's much more beautiful up close; it makes me want to ravish him right on the spot. But I have to contain my self for now. If I act too quickly my plan will be ruined and so will everything I worked so hard for. Besides, if I wait just a little longer he will be more depressed then ever, making him far more ripe then he is now.'_

"It's alright young prince, my appearance is quite… unusual, and so everyone jumps at first." Karasu explained while smiling kindly down at Kurama as he lifted the boy's chin. '_Just beautiful…'_

"I see, I'm sorry about that... but I think that your form is actually quite interesting. I especially love your tale; it's really different, like that a great white." Kurama said thinking out loud. He smiled and Karasu twitched. Being compared to a great white was a **huge** compliment in the ocean.

'…_Containing myself might be harder then I first thought…'_

"May I ask though… what was that… person out there?" Kurama asked; he couldn't help but flitch slightly. That creature seemed to be warning him about Karasu; was the sea demon the one who did that to him? Gaining information about the sea demon would be important, considering he still was not sure what he was getting into.

"Ah, that person; do not worry about him. Like we are about to do, we made a very interesting deal and he did not do what he needed, so I won. He would not be so badly wounded if he didn't keep getting in the way. So he is not worth your worries; besides, we're here to discuss your problems with me, not mine."

"…May I ask… what was the deal he made with you?" Kurama asked cautiously. He saw a dark look return to Karasu's eyes before they returned to normal.

"I'm sorry that is confidential. However, I will say that he did try to find someone but failed. I merely helped him out. For all that person knows the person he was looking for could be dead, he was a fool for even trying."

'_He's ruthless and cruel… and he seems to try to understand more of the situation then the person he sells the deal too… seems like a regular pushy sales man only with a cooler form. I should be careful when dealing with him.'_ "I see…"

'_Clever little thing, he's trying to figure me out. Well, let's get to the fun part, reeling the fish in.' _Karasu thought sinisterly.

* * *

Kuwabara and Youko were slowly swimming through one of the tunnels in the lair. Kuwabara was slightly trembling but still went forward. When it came to his friends Kuwabara Kazuma never ran away. Youko on the other hand was examining his surroundings. He remembered the stone statues at the beginning, and knew those people were not there to make a deal with Karasu. The way he could tell was because they all had a weapon of some kind that was either hidden or out, as if they were ready to fight. Apparently, they must've tried to defeat the sea demon and failed.

'_So not only is this demon sly he's also very powerful. I will have to be careful when I deal with him.'_ Youko thought to himself as he and Kuwabara swam through one of the tunnels of the cave. There were many, but Youko trusted Kuwabara's instinct. For some reason, the carp had a very strong 6 sense, and finding correct tunnels to avoid traps was one of his specialties…or so Kurama told him. There was another way of tracking too, and Youko was using it there.

The tears of the merpeople were highly scented, and since Kurama had just cried, he esily tracked with Youko's unique nose. With Youko's nose and Kuwabara's sixth sense combined, they were hot on Kurama's trail.

"Hey Youko, you're old, do you know anything about this Karasu that's worth knowing?" Kuwabara asked the older being, who twitched at the word 'old.'

"Why you sun of a- HOW DARE YOU CALL ME OLD!" Youko yelled and he clamped down his claws hard on Kuwabara's tail, making the young carp scream and swim much faster through the tunnel. "JUST BECAUSE I'M OVER A THOUSAND YEARS OLD, IT DOESN'T MEAN I'M OLD! AS A YO-" Youko suddenly shut up but Kuwabara didn't notice the slip due to the pain. "NEVER MIND, JUST KEEP SWIMMING!"

"OOOOOWW!" Kuwabara yelled as swam faster then a motor boat. He highly regretted his choice on calling the crab old. '_Note to self, never call a crab old, while he's riding on your back.'_

It took ten minutes, but eventually Youko calmed down enough to let Kuwabara go. Kuwabara just sulked in the top part of the tunnel, while nuzzling his 'poor tail' continuously.

"Oh shut up you pathetic carp, we need to find Shu-chan." Youko said annoyed.

"WHO'S FAULT IS THIS! All I wanted to know was if you knew anything about Karasu, and then you freak out and cut my fin… I think it might be bleeding…" Kuwabara said pouting. He hated to bleed; it always attracted bigger and stronger predators then him, and the last thing he needed at the moment was a orca swooping in and making him dinner.

"It will heal in a while, so don't worry. It's not as if anything will want to come after you right now, not since we're so close to Karasu." Kuwabara could only nod. "…I do know Karasu though, or a least some details of his past. I also had the pleasure of talking to him while he was still sane; or at least when acted like he was." Youko commented and Kuwabara lit up.

"Really, well tell me already; I won't stay young forever." Kuwabara yelled happily and Youko covered the carp's mouth.

"Don't yell you idiot; we're in enemy ter-" Youko could not continue his sentence as he and Kuwabara went around a corner. Kuwabara looked confused as he looked at Youko's golden eyes open in shock. Curiously, the carp looked ahead and his jaw dropped and his eyes popped out as he yelled out in shock (anime fish, he can do that ), "WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE!"

Youko could not answer. The two had just come face to face with the brown seaweed like creatures. They all turned to the 2 intruders and started moaning, and trying to warn them to stay away all at once, so it was impossible to understand what they were saying. Suddenly one shot out at Kuwabara who yelled, and turned and hit it away with his tail. Another went at Youko and wrapped around his claw, but the old crab reacted and cut it with his claw. Kuwabara and Youko swam back as more came out and continuously attacked them.

As the creatures attacked, they kept moaning, telling the 2 intruders to run. They had tried to stop the one before, but he was too fast and they could not stop him time. They had regretted that deeply, but they would not miss a second time; their worst fear was if someone else became like them, or worse…

"DAMN IT! LEAVE US BE, WE HAVE TO SAVE OUR FRIEND!" Kuwabara yelled but the poor creatures didn't listen and one shot out and head butted him in the face. Kuwabara got knocked back and Youko quickly retreated into his shell as one did the same to him. They landed at the mouth of the tunnel and they watched horrifyingly as the things suddenly jumped out across to another on the opposite side, and made a wall out their 'bodies.'

Youko and Kuwabara slammed against the wall a few times, but the things never let go. They were sure that they were protecting the crab and carp, so much that they would make sure not let them anywhere near Karasu; the sea demon which forced them into their hideous forms.

"FUCK! Now what are we gonna do Youko?" Kuwabara heaved as he hit himself against the walls. Youko tried once more before giving up.

"We can't go all the way back that's for sure; it would take too long to get to Shuichi." Youko said angrily. Kuwabara cursed loudly again and tried to go through the wall, while Youko scratched the edge of his shell, a sign that he was thinking. After a while, Kuwabara stopped slamming himself upon the wall of seaweed, and just slid against it and started to tremble. He was so close to losing his best fiend, and there was nothing he could do; for a moment he just felt so weak and useless. There was a deep silence, that the not even the seaweed could interrupt, as Youko thought of a plan and Kuwabara thought back on Kurama, and how he regretted telling the Sea king.

Finally, the silence was interrupted by a sigh, and Youko put his claw down and shrugged. "I guess it can't be helped, Shuichi is in trouble…" Youko said and Kuwabara opened his eyes in shock and turned to Youko. "This conversation is confidential, only you, I and Shuichi can talk about it; once he learns after I tell him of course." Youko said and he smirked at Kuwabara from under his shell.

"W-What do you mean by that." Kuwabara yelled at the crab that merely looked up to the ceiling.

"You obviously know of my situation with the king, that he cursed me to keep control right? Well Kuwabara-san, I'll tell you something even more juicy then that." This perturbed Kuwabara, a secret so great he couldn't tell anyone. Such a secret was dangerous, and he couldn't forget the secret that he accidentally let out that caused this entire ordeal for them.

"I won't take no for an answer carp!" Youko said and turned his piercing gold eyes at him. "Now listen, Karasu is worse then he seems, and the name sea demon is not only a title. Along time ago, he was a real demon; literally!" Kuwabara's jaw dropped and Youko smirked, and his claw started to glow a strange reddish color, and Kuwabara could hardly believe his eyes.

"N-no WAY IS TH-TH-THAT-"

"Yomi has changed only 2 demons into merpeople because they found out about their under water civilization. One was Karasu, and the other-" Youko thrust his hand up and a powerful blast of youkai went through the roof, creating a hole just big enough for Kuwabara and Youko; "is self explainable!" Kuwabara's mouth hanged open like the fish he was. He just stared at the crab and he couldn't believe his eyes, the person was a real live demon.

'_Now I have a real reason for staying away from his bad side,' _Kuwabara thought as he stared at the small hole Youko made.

* * *

Karasu and Kurama turned to the exit. For a moment, both of them felt a large amount of youkai. '_What was that…?'_ Kurama thought and he saw Karasu glare at the door.

'_So they're going to try and stop me huh? Well to bad for them, but today I __**will **__get Kurama.' _Karasu thought then before he looked at the Toguro brothers strait into the eyes and contacted them. '_Slow those 2 down and don't let them pass you until I have Shuichi. If they come here too early, then the plan shall be ruined.'_ The Toguro brothers nodded and left through some holes in the skeleton like structure to head Kuwabara and Youko off.

"I'm sorry about that young prince." Karasu said and Kurama jumped a little but Karasu ignored that. "There are many object hidden with in this place were I hold objects which I use for my spells and many other forms of magic. I even have bottles which hold essences of youkai, which I hang on to for certain occasions." Too prove he wasn't **completely** lying, he swam over to a cupboard in the corner of the room and opened it, revealing many bottles of glowing things. Reaching in, he took out a bottle that was glowing red, and was definitely leaking some youkai which Kurama could sense. "However, sometimes I lock the youkai away too strongly or it reacts to something that is powerful around it, and it grows too strong for the containment and explodes. As you sensed, that was one of the stronger ones I had."

Kurama nodded and relaxed slightly. "I understand, sorry for jumping over something so simple. But may I ask how you got the youkai in the first place." Kurama asked curiously and Karasu laughed and put the bottle back in the cupboard. "That's a story for different day; now let's work on your own predicament." Karasu said. He then swam over and gently and rubbed Kurama's head a little, Kurama adverted his eyes from the Sea Demon's and Karasu saw a glint of sadness in them. '_How beautiful…' (_He likes thinking that_)_

"Now," Karasu began again and he let go of Shuichi's head and sat down on a chair and eyed Shuichi sternly, showing his business look. "Tell me if I have all the details, young prince. You enjoy collecting human, and demon objects, but that is something the old king hates the most. His wife abuses you whenever she can, and there is a small rumor that she has been hurting you for a long time, is that correct?"

Kurama lowered his eyes and sat down across from Karasu in his own chair. They were normal human chairs, but neither of them seemed to mind. Then slowly, Kurama nodded.

"I see, and I'm guessing the reason for the shirt is too hide the wounds which she, herself caused."

"Yes Karasu-san." Kurama answered and Karasu's eyes widened. It had been so long since someone had addressed him in such a polite term.

"I see, and your friends have betrayed you, have they not. It's sad when the people we trust betray us so horribly."

"Um-no! Youko has never betrayed me, and Kuwabara, now that I look back, probably didn-" Kurama stopped and gasped in shock when Karasu slowly swam over, and hugged the prince.

"It's okay, little one. You should not defend someone who hurt you so badly. After all, who else would have given your secrets away and lead an all powerful king to your haven. It must hurt you so much, knowing that thing does not deserve your forgiveness. But we mustn't forget the crab of course." Kurama's eyes open in surprise and he pushed Karasu slightly away so he could look up at the sea demons face.

"What do you mean? Youko has never done anything-"

"Exactly, he has done **nothing**! He has a very keen sense of smell, so he always knew when you were hurt, he also knows you inside out Shuichi!" Kurama twitched at the nickname, only Youko called him that. "So why has he done **nothing**?" Karasu spat out the word with venom, and Kurama started shaking.

"Please…stop-"

"Why has he never done anything to help you?"

"SHUT UP! You don't know Youko, he always has something planned and-and…"

"You care for him like a brother right?" Kurama looked up, shocked, but slowly he nodded.

"I wonder if I told you, that he doesn't feel the same; that he may in fact hate you." Kurama could not even fight back, he just stared as the taller man hovered over him, his grey skin, and long hair just waves around him, and he felt like going into a corner; as if the world was shrinking around him. Karasu was terrifying, and he couldn't even do anything. "Thank about it; before you came along he was the king of thieves, with no rival who could challenge him. Then, someone related to you, your own father, took that all away from him, and forced him to babysit his youngest child. Not only that, but he forces him away from his own god like body, into a pitiful crab. Why would he care for anything like you?"

Karasu's hard eyes kept Kurama from moving, and his last sentence, felt as if he slashed him with his claws, right across his stomach. He couldn't do anything, and he couldn't deny anything which Karasu had said. It was all true! Or that's what his fragile brain was telling him at the moment. The truth was, Kurama was already so mentally damaged from earlier, with the fight with Yomi and the swim through Karasu's lair, he could not rationalize the situation like he usually could. It also didn't help that Karasu looked terrifying as a shark, which just hovered in front of its prey, trying to figure out just which way to eat it.

"However…there is one person who may be able to save you, and love you." Karasu the calmed down and sat in the opposite chair again, but his words were what caught the prince's attention and calmed him down slightly again. He was still scared, but the mentioning of someone loving him gave him hope, and comforted him. He was about to ask who, when the sea demon continued. "That of course, is the person you treasure over everyone else, but just met recently… Hiei-sama!" Kurama clenched his fists, and a look of determination was in his eyes.

"Are you saying…that you know of a way that can make us together? Is that even possible? And would Hiei go along with this willingly?" Kurama asked and he arose from his chair and accidentally knocked it over with his fin, but he paid no heed.

"That would depend on you, little one, and how far you would go for him. And that's the question I must ask you; how far would you go to be with him?" Karasu asked, and he stared at the prince with interest from his chair and from behind his mask, a smile was forming. Kurama stayed quiet for a moment and lowered his eyes to think.

'_For you Hiei…I would… I would-'_

"For Hiei, I would risk my life to save him, and for his love I would go as far as he wanted me to. I would never pressure him though; it's Hiei's choice and his emotions, I would only do my best. For him I would do almost anything to gain his trust and his heart, and then treasure him for all eternity, if he trusts me with it. I would never hurt him!" Kurama vowed, and all fear seemed to vanish from his eyes.

'_Amazing, just by thinking of that demon has erased all fear e held earlier; Now for the last question._' Karasu thought, making sure he had all the cards.

"I see, and now I'll ask my final question; how far would you go to keep him safe?" Karasu asked and that strange glint in his eye returned.

"I would forfeit my life." Kurama answered, without any hesitation this time.

Karasu smirked from behind his mask which became a grin which he did not hide from his eyes. '_Perfect!'_

"Very well, Kurama I will tell you how you can become human, and the price for such a wish." Karasu said and Kurama's eyes widened in shock and stopped swimming.

* * *

Youko and Kuwabara were swimming right above the tunnel, about 2 feet above the ground. It would have been pitch black if Youko had not been using a type of sea anemone which did not sting him**.** This was because he had grown it himself using his youkai, from a small broken off piece from another which died long ago no less. Though using that much energy was tiring, he still moved on, mainly by holding onto Kuwabara's fin as the carp swam.

"So are we nearly there yet carp? I'm getting bored of your company, and would prefer Shuichi's. So move faster so we can save him already!" Youko said and he clenched his claw a little tighter making the carp yelp before yelling back.

"SHUT UP! I'm doing the best I can, I also have to concentrate on Kurama's energy too you know. Not that you can't track any more you useless youkai, do you even have enough youkai left to bust a hole through the roof so we can get to him?" Another snap at his tail made him scream and swim faster for a moment before calmed down again.

"Don't mess with me Kuwabara! It may not look like much, but I'm actually speeding up the process to change me back into my merman form again. But to do this I have to use my Youkai to push away Yomi's water power which is still lingering. Right now I could transform partly, but it would be pretty weird. It'd be like a cross between my crab form and my merform. The reason why I must change is because I found out during many experiments, that my youkai is stronger while I'm a merman, and thus we'd have a stronger chance of saving Shu-chan. Understand idiot?" Youko finished and Kuwabara nodded somewhat as he kept swimming.

"I think, but would it be enough to challenge Karasu? I mean, he does seem pretty strong." Youko nodded in agreement.

"It's true, he is probably more powerful then I will be at the moment, but I have a plan for that. Don't worry, the biggest trouble will be getting there, saving Shuichi shouldn't be as hard." Youko assured his companion, and Kuwabara nodded and grinned.

"YEAH, LET'S GO SAVE KURAMA!" He yelled and Youko's eye twitched and he snapped his fin again before telling the carp to shut up. Neither saw the two eels that swam near them, until the decided to make their presence known. The older one snickered easily before suddenly charging out of the shadows and at Kuwabara. Luckily, Youko quickly smelled him, and looked behind and saw the eels that had it gaping jaws open to attack Kuwabara. Acting quickly like a reflex, the crab snapped really hard on Kuwabara's fin and threw the anemone which he was holding, right at the eel, who quickly charged up to avoid the shocking plant and hovered over the 2, where his brother was.

Kuwabara ignored the pain in his fin, knowing that Youko had to do it to make swim fast enough to avoid the now noticed eel. "WHAT THE HELL; electric eels?" He said confused, and Youko noticed that they were the 2 that had escorted Kurama earlier.

'_I knew they are up to no good.'_ Youko thought angrily.

Just then the eels started to swim above them; circling them like vultures as the oldest and smaller brother started speaking. "Well, well little brother, look what we have here; a carp and a crab that's trying to disturb our master's hard work." The older eel said as he swam above Kuwabara and Youko. The 2 glared at the eels that swam above them.

"So what if we are? We want to help out our friend is that a crime?" Kuwabara asked, and for once he wasn't showing any fear as the 2 eels continued to circle them from above.

"Yes of course it is. That boy is good business to the sea demon, so unfortunately for you, we won't let you help him." The older said, and the younger, who was surprisingly bigger then his older brother, just nodded. "So unfortunately, you must- DIE!" and the younger swept down, as Youko and Kuwabara got ready to fight.

'_This might take a time which we do not have. Damn it, you thought of everything Karasu!' _Youko thought as he dodged the first attack. The older however came from behind him, and would have clamped his jaws down on the crab, if Kuwabara had not tackled the eel in time.

The elder eel glared at the carp who hit him. Kuwabara however, did not back down. He could never run away when a friend needed him, even if he had to put his life on the line he would never run away. Kuwabara then glared and charged at the electric eel again, he wasn't nearly as fast as Youko or Kurama, but he was much faster then any other carp in the ocean, which caught the eel by surprise as he was barely able to dodge the first attack. '_This could be an interesting fight after all.'_

* * *

Kurama stopped swimming in shock, and Karasu quickly got a chair for him, before he collapsed on the ground.

"Human? What? How?" Kurama said in shock, his mind was racing a hundred miles a second, trying to comprehend what Karasu had just informed him.

"Calm down young one, it's not as hard to believe as you think it is." Karasu said calmly. Kurama just gave him a look and Karasu sighed, he didn't really like explanations but for someone as smart as Kurama they would be needed. After all, if he just went a head and did it like he did with the normal 'customers' then Kurama would be too suspicious of him. He had been spying on he prince for a **very** long time, and knew how he reacted to things such as this.

"Kurama-san, dark arts is one of the most feared things, because it requires a price to use it. However, when used correctly it can do many unimaginable things; such as turning you into a human or transforming gubbies to sharks. ('which_ I have yet to try_', Karasu thought gloomily.) However so many people have become afraid of the dark arts, that it has become forbidden, even feared. That is the reason for my…current appearance." Karasu gritted out. He felt animosity burning in his chest, resenting what the king had done to him. He knew the anger showed on his face as he remembered the trail from many years ago, because Kurama's eyes had gotten larger and he felt a slight tremble from his glare. Suddenly Karasu turned on the prince and slammed his clawed fist into one on the walls, causing it to crack and break slightly. Karasu relaxed again, and he felt the fury leave his body and he turned back to the prince, who did not move, or flinch. In fact, he looked very calm, as if he was not even afraid. There was a long period of silence, in which neither of them spoke

"I…see." Kurama said calmly. "I heard it was Yomi who had changed your form, but I never understood why. You must feel great resentment towards him…and me." Kurama finished and he glanced away for a moment before looking back at the demon. "So why do you wish to help me, a son of your enemy?" Kurama asked cautiously. After observing the man's behavior, he could not understand the logic behind such a merman. Yes to Kurama he was just another merman, not a monster which everyone else saw.

Kurama still remembered what he saw as he traveled through the squid of course, but Kurama knew there was a reason for it. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. '_This_ _deal! That must be the price of going against Karasu…or_'- Kurama thought back on what Karasu said about that thing behind the clam. '_Losing…_' Karasu waved a hand in front of the prince's face. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't even hear what Karasu had said.

"Silly prince, going off to your own would while I speak. I'm not **that** boring hope." Karasu said with a smile. Kurama couldn't see it of course but he saw it through Karasu's eyes. Kurama only stuttered and tried to mutter apologies while he blushed in embarrassment, but Karasu held up a clawed hand and stopped him. "It's all right Kurama; I don't mind repeating one more time, so long as you listen this time." A smirk played over the sea demon's face, which could be seen in his eyes. "As I said, I have my own reasons for helping you, most of them are because it angers the sea king greatly, and there is nothing better then upsetting those you hate. As for you, I don't mind you, especially since you compared me to a shark of great superiority." Karasu said with pride and Kurama felt a sweat drop appear behind his head.

'_He's just like Youko!' _Kurama thought.

"Now Kurama Shuichi Minamino, let's finally get to the details of are agreement." Karasu said with a smirk. Smiling, he led the boy to a different room; one holding many ingredients and possessions that the young prince had never seen. There were fish in bottles that had come from the bottom of the ocean, cabinets filled with different kinds of liquids, that seemed to be trying to escape, glass balls that had human world animals and insects, and meat and other parts of bodies from who knows what, hanging on hooks. In the middles of the dark room there was a basin that had a dark stand, with oysters and dark symbols carved into it, and had a dark, purple black mixture floating around it. If they were on land Kurama would have sworn it looked like a liquid of some kind.

Karasu smiled as Kurama observed around the room, and led him over to the basin. Calmly, he made it so that Kurama and he were on opposite sides of it; the purple substance illuminated so Kurama's face turned purple due to the light. Kurama looked as if he wanted to touch it but Karasu warned him against it. "Touching creations from darkness can bring forth unwanted side affects." Kurama nodded and kept his hands by his side. It was jut so interesting, that he wanted to see how it felt.

Karasu plucked a hair from his had and slowly, by the end, lowered the hair, root first into the substance, which rippled as the hair entered. Much to Kurama's surprise, Karasu let go of the hair and with a flash of light, the 'liquid' like substances turned golden yellow, with a bright glowing white ball above it, which lit up the entire room. Kurama blinked and squinted at first, there had not been such bright lights in a while, so it took him a while to get use to it.

When Kurama eyes adjusted to the light, he finally saw a shape in the water and his eyes widened. It was his bodiy's outline!

"I find using visual images helps customers understand the deals they're getting into." Karasu explained calmly. "Now, let me make this clear, I can make you a human for 7 days, that's one week in land walker terms. During which time, you are going to try and get the young prince to fall in love with you." As Karasu explained, the Kurama in the glowing ball changed from a merman to a human, and was walking calmly. "Now to prove his love, Hiei will have to kiss you-and not just any kiss!" Kurama looked confused at the quick note Karasu gave him.

"This kiss has to show that he loves you back, a kiss of true love one might say." Karasu said. "If he does kiss you, you'll stay a human forever, if not, well then-" Suddenly, the picture of Kurama turned back to a merman, and chains enveloped his body making the prince jump. "You'll be mine! Your body, mind; everything will become mine, and you'll be mine to do what I say." Karasu said darkly, and he turned to look at prince whose eyes were wide with shock. Then as if Karasu had an after thought, he added, "And if you kiss him it doesn't count; even if he returns it!" Karasu said and Kurama pouted.

"That's a bit unfair isn't it?" Kurama asked. Sadly, Kurama thought back on his family. Jin and he had always got along so well, and Touya and he use to always enjoy a good intelligent conversation. He always enjoyed sparing with his brothers, and had even managed to defeat Shura and Risho a couple of times, and almost always defeated Shishi. But still… even if he always fought with the purple haired man, they were still family, and Kurama did have a few good times with his elder brother.

"If I do this… I'll be leaving behind my family, and all my friends, won't I?" Kurama asked the sea demon in a low voice and Karasu smirked.

"It's true, but does it matter now?" Kurama flinched and thought about it. He had been collecting human objects, a weird enough act as it was, and then he fell in love with a demon. He had no regret about that in his heart; his mother told him that if it was for love, then everything would eventually work out. However, loving any kind of land walker was looked upon as disgusting, and repulsive. When his friends and brothers hear about it, and he knew they would, then they were sure to be disgusted in him as well. In the end; he would be dead to them.

"No, you're right," Kurama answered the sea demon.

"Good, because now we must discuss the price of such a wish!" Karasu said and Kurama gulped in nervousness. He had left all his money in his bag, which was currently on his bed in the castle and there was no way he could get it now. Also, anything which he could have traded was now destroyed, thanks to Yomi's wrath. Noticing the look Kurama on Kurama's face, Karasu laughed and swatted his grey hand in the air. "Calm down Kurama-kun, I'm not asking for any material possession. I have no use for those things anyway-no! What I want is something far more valuable and personal from you." Karasu said and he leaned upon a shelf, the light from the ball showed his every move. "Kurama, what I want, is your voice!"

* * *

Youko was hit into a rock, Kuwabara soon showed up beside him. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Youko looked at the 2 eels, one was laughing in total glee, no doubt enjoying himself at their expense, while the other remained expressionless. Kuwabara suddenly glared up at the 2, part of his forehead was cut, and he had bruises and dirt all over his scales (can fish bruise? O well!). There was no doubt about one thing, they were losing. Coughing, Kuwabara turned to the silver crab.

"Damn these guys are tough, do you have any idea how to get to them? I swear, the big one gets stronger by the moment, and the other can dodge anything. It's almost like they're not actually eels!" Kuwabara gritted out and Youko laughed.

"I'm also finding it hard to believe they are of the ocean, but I can't think of anything else at the moment." Youko explained and he looked at his claw. For a moment he saw his fingers outlined on his claw before looking back at the battle field. '_Just a bit longer…'_ He thought and he snapped his claw shut. '_Yomi has slowed my transformation back into a merman, however, even if I can transform half way that would do for now. I just need another 5 minutes or so, then I'll have enough Youkai; until then Shuichi please wait for me. Don't rush ahead!'_ Youko thought.

"Hey, you're the smart one; do you have a strategy or something to defeat these guys? Anyway you're a youkai, can't you do any freaky tricks?" Kuwabara asked, getting anxious. He gulped when Youko turned to him, giving him a frightening stare, that almost said, 'I'm working on it infidel so don't bug me!'

"Don't worry Kuwa-baka! I do have a plan all set up, but it's just not ready yet. However, let's switch eels." Youko smirked and pointed to the thicker one. "You fight with brute strength, making it impossible for you to win against the eldest, while if you fight the other, you may be able to match him. I on the other hand, am superior to you in head games, and observation. Trust me, if we switch, we won't be hurt as much." Youko explained.

"As much" Kuwabara gasped out but he sighed? He couldn't think of anything better, so he had no choice but to go with the crazy old fox's (Youko told him what he was earlier.) idea.

"Are you done speaking yet?" the older asked with a crackle. "Because we are ready to kill you now," with that the eldest charged and Youko jumped up and nicked the eel with his claw, while Kuwabara actually charged the younger eel before it went for any of them, especially Youko. '_Don't worry Kurama, the great Kazuma Kuwabara is coming for you.'_

The Toguro smirked, he was looking for a challenge and the carp seemed to provide one. If all went well, then he would have a fun fight.

* * *

"Pardon," Kurama asked confused? He did not quite understand what Karasu had meant. 'Voice' could mean many things, such as his voice box, or maybe he was told not to speak.

Karasu shook his head; he really hated explaining things, especially to people as smart as Kurama. It could make them realize his plots, make them reconsider, or worse of all, reveal his true personality. If that happened then his plan defiantly would fail. "Your voice, that pretty little thing you speak and sing with. That is the price I need in order to fulfill our deal, and your wish. Every other organ will be fine, even your voice box will stay in one piece, I'll just take what's inside it." Karasu explained. He would also need that voice for special tactical purposes.

"How can I speak to anyone without a voice? Getting Hiei to open up would be hard enough, but making me do it without talking and with such a short time limit is impossible! Can I at least have a month?" Kurama asked, trying to be reasonable. From the start he knew a week was too short, but if he had a month, then he could at least become a friend to Hiei. How he could make Hiei comfortable with him in a week. It seemed impossible. And the worse of it, judging by the letters Hiei had sent him; he was extremely antisocial as well.

"Your voice is only worth one week as it is, I can't change that!" Karasu said. He wasn't lying, to use dark magic the user had to always make a sacrifice. The more you sacrificed, the more you got. Karasu was just happy that in this case, he was the one who got the best out of this deal.

"What is the cost of a month?" Kurama asked and Karasu smirked.

"One quarter of your soul," he answered and Kurama gasped. They both knew that he couldn't give anything that would equal that amount, and that he would need all he could to get along on the land. With a sigh Kurama's shoulders slumped, and he looked at Karasu pleadingly. "Is there anything else I could possibly get for help?" He asked and Karasu shook his head.

"Do not distress young prince. I know this will be extremely difficult, but I have a feeling you can succeed. Just use that pretty face of yours, and never underestimate body language. After all, they may be your only tools in that world, since you no longer as welcomed in this one." Kurama twitched at that and Karasu smiled. Swimming over he put his hand on Shuichi's shoulder and asked him the question which many others had accepted. "Do agree with these terms, little prince? Do we have a deal?"

As he extended his hand, he saw Kurama grab it quickly, and he shook once. Karasu was surprised at first, he thought the prince would more hesitant. Hoever, when he looked up at Kurama's face, he saw the determination in Kurama's eyes and the smirk that matched.

"We have a deal, and I will not lose!" Kurama said and Karasu smirked as well.

'_You're mine…' _With that, their hands glowed quickly signaling the agreement and Karasu let go. "The timer starts when the sun rises tomorrow morning; so we should prepare you now." With that Karasu quickly let go of the prince's hand and swam right past him. He was so fast that Kurama could barely see him and was thrown back a bit as the tides he caused were so hard. When Kurama opened his eyes, he saw Karasu on the other side of the room, grabbing some thing from the cabinet before throwing them into the basin. The bubble, which once was the source of light in the room, exploded when the first thing entered, but it didn't became dark. The explosions were usually different colors, and happened so often that the room kept switching colors, and the room suddenly turned yellow when Karasu swam to the basin (which had a blue shining fog from the last explosion) and threw in a little orb, which contained one blue butterfly which contained youkai. The next explosion was huge, which created a large, thick, yellow fog, so Kurama couldn't even see the basin anymore and which would not go away. Suddenly, Karasu swam out of the fog while chanting something, when he was done the fog changed green, and he turned to Kurama and pointed out at him and said one word; "Sing!"

Kurama jumped and he couldn't think of a song. He tried but the fog and Karasu's eyes (which had turned red) terrified him too much and his voice got caught in his throat. He tried but he couldn't even utter a sound under the sea demon's terrifying gaze.

"I SAID SING!" Karasu yelled and Kurama flinched and tried to think of something, anything. Suddenly a thought ran through his head. Where Hiei was resting on his lap while his tale barely touched the water, and Hiei's cute and deep breaths were the only thing he heard as he slept. Hearing the song he sang then, Kurama opened his mouth, and let the words fly out.

"_In the moonlight I felt your heart,_

_Quiver like a bow sting's pulse-"_

Karasu yelled for him to continue as he thrust his hands through the smoke and into the boiling liquids. When he brought his hand out of the basin, it was glowing green, and steam was coming from under his scales.

"_In the moon's pale light_

_You looked at me;_

_Nobody knows your heart."_

Karasu lifted his hand and his eyes stared at Kurama, the prince kept trying to sing, no matter if his voice was shaking. Suddenly the demon disappeared and when Kurama was about to look around he stopped. He couldn't move his mouth, he couldn't do anything; Karasu had thrust the green hand into his throat, and he was sure he felt a bones break. The only thing that kept him up was the hand that was in his throat.

* * *

Youko slashed the older Toguro's eye with his claw, making the thing jump away and swim up to where his brother was. Kuwabara however, did not do as well as the Youko. He had cuts all over him, and was just slammed down into the ground. As he slowly looked up and tried to swim up just a little his black eye was shown and Youko swam over to him and grabbed his fin lightly.

"You should slow down Kuwabara, you don't have a hard shell like I do." Youko said concerned but Kuwabara just shook his head. "No… way, I have to save Kurama. If…I don't I can never look at myself in a …mirror again." He said between coughing and at the end, he started coughing so violently that he even coughed up some blood. Youko glared up at the eel brothers above of him, and he felt an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time; disgust and complete hatred. He could even say the 'damned Sea King' had more respect then the eels as he looked at them.

"Okay that's it, you can push me around and slow me down from my goals, but no one, under any circumstances, messes with Shuichi and Kuwabara. For one thing; Kuwabara is **my** punching bag, and Shuichi's been picked on enough. Let me tell you now, scum, that you have pissed off the wrong crab!" With that he released a huge amount of youkai so his entire body was wrapped in it and he grew at a quick pace. But something was completely different, he did not grow back his tail, but instead 6 legs grew in its place, and his smooth skin was replaced with a ruff shell like material, which also covered his arms and part of his head. His hair grew out like normal, but while one arm was covered in the crusty shell like material, the other did not transform into a hand, but instead stayed a claw.

Kuwabara quivered at the sight of the new form and he swallowed his spit. He knew at once that this was the form Youko nicknamed 'half way' by his half human shaped top. What amazed Kuwabara most was that Youko's usual fox ears were still the same, while everything else seemed to change. '_It must be some kind of trade mark from his demon form that refuses to go.' _Kuwabara reasoned. He looked up at the Toguro brothers and noticed that they were also afraid of this new form that Youko showed. Or at least shocked, but he could see that Youko take advantage of that and he jumped, due to his new, and powerful legs, his jump was very fast, and he used his clawed arm to cut through the elder, and his hand to punch the younger into the rocks.

The elders head was hanging on and inch of skin, while the youngest gasped. But when he tried to squirm of the rock, a clawed hand went through the rock and held him in place. The Younger looked up at the glaring yellow eyes and he smiled, '_He would be fun to fight for real with,' _he thought.

Youko clenched his fingers together and felt that his nail were much sharper then usual. Getting ready, the ex-demon aimed the razor sharp nails at the brother's brain. He was just about to end the eel's life when a flash of powerful energy erupted from behind him. Turning around he saw many lights being surrounded by darkness, just a short swim away. He heard a chuckle and he turned to the Toguro and yelled at him angrily. "What's so funny?"

"Those lights and darkness mean the deal has been done and is now over with. By the time you get there, it will be too late; you can't save him any more." The younger Toguro explained and Youko's eyes opened and he took his claw out of the rock. Swearing loudly, he swam in the direction of the darkness, Kuwabara following close behind. When they were out of sight the youngest eel swam up to his brother. "You can stop acting now, he's gone."

The elder Toguro's head nodded and tentacle like fibers came from his neck and pulled it back together. Cracking his neck a little, he turned to his brother. "I hate it when that happens, I always feel numb after pulling myself together." He wined and Toguro (younger) shrugged.

"Better then dying though," the youngest said, making the oldest nod in response.

"Yes it is, but I hate Karasu's end of the deal he made us take in order to make our bodies like this."

"We get stronger bodies, but become his spies; yes it is not quite what I wanted but that's fine, so long as I don't age." With that the younger swam off, soon followed by his oldest brother.

* * *

Kurama gasped when the sea demon removed his hand, he felt some blood seep out, but for some strange feeling he went numb. At first he thought he was just about to die, when he felt his bone meant at a quick pace and his skin healed as well. Suddenly the skin mended completely and he slumped over and felt Karasu catch him. As he looked up, he noticed something in his now grey hands, looking up; he noticed it was a black sheet of paper roled up.

"Kurama, this is the deal we have made, but before anything else can be done I need your signature. That way you can safely hand your voice over to me, and it clearly states that if the container which I use breaks, then you can have it back. I found that fair." He then opened the piece of paper, and Kurama tried to read what his hazy mind could understand. Seeing what Karasu said was true and everything else in the deal was the same he already agreed, he silently grabbed the pen that was right above it and wrote down his signature. At first, it was just purple ink like the rest of the writing, but then his hand suddenly got cut, as if by an invisible knife, and cover the entire sheet in red. Kurama watched silently, too tired to be amazed as the blood was absorbed by the writing, dying the letters red in turn. Suddenly he looked to the basin, which started making red smoke form, and he saw a little gold light, which kept making some sound, but as the smoke raised, the sound got louder, and Kurama soon realized that that was his voice, singing the rest of the song as it headed to Karasu, who had moved away from him already.

"_-beautiful and haunting but cold  
like the blade of a knife so sharp so sweet  
nobody knows your heart  
All of your sorrow, grief and pain  
locked away in the forest of the night  
Your secret heart belongs to the world  
of the things that sigh in the dark  
of the things that cry in the dark."_

The last note died away when the voice entered a small shell, which Karasu wore on his ear like an earring. When it entered, Karasu turned to the Basin and seemed to throw something in the basin, which exploded and 2 giant hands came out and quickly headed to Kurama. Kurama flinched and crossed his arms in front of his head, as if too block an attack. The arms just grabbed his arms and tail, and created a bubble around him, with no water at all in there.

It did not stop there though; Kurama saw a cloud of darkness start coming from the bottom where his fin was and start enveloping him. Kurama tried to slide back from it, now afraid, but his back touched the end of the bubble. He tried slamming his fists on it, but it wouldn't break, and soon the smoke covered him too his chest and was going up his arms. With a final silent scream, it covered his head stopping him from seeing anything.

There was silence were all Kurama could hear was his own silent gasps of breath. Then without warning a sudden pain hit him, starting with his fin he felt as if it were being torn in 2. He tried to scream but nothing came out his mouth since voice was already gone. However in his head he could still hear himself. He felt his arms burning, his lungs tightening, his gills forcefully being taken from his sides. The scales on his arms were changing into light hairs, somewhere in the distance he heard his shirt tearing off but was in too much pain to care, and he felt something new at the bottom of his waist. Everything hurt, from his hands to the bottom of where his tail was **supposed** to be. Kurama felt his throat hurt, even though he could no longer speak, and with such pain he almost felt like dying. The only thing that kept him alive was that tiny voice that softly called out in his mind. '_Hi…ie!'_

After a while, he could no longer feel pain, only a numb sensation where he could barely keep his eyes open. He saw the black smoke leave his face and the bubble seemed to open and water started to fill. _'I guess…I lived but… I don't think I can breathe, anymore.' _He suddenly thought as his body fell from the bubble and slowly floated to the ground. _'Strange…It looks like the thing where I lived in since I was a child will kill me. And… I haven't even seen Hiei yet. What irony,'_ were his final thoughts as the darkness claimed him.

Karasu was smiling, his eyes had changed from soothing violet, too a burning red as he laughed crazily. He swam over he looked at the naked prince with his new grown legs. "So this is how you look, my how lovely u are." He said and he lifted him by the arm, '_perfection!'_

Karasu wanted to ravish the prince's body, to use it until he died, but fortunately for the prince, that plan would be foiled.

Karasu stopped suddenly and looked up to the roof were a large amount of youkai gathered all of a sudden. Swearing, loudly he grabbed the prince, and pulled him out of the way before the ceiling broke, breaking many dark ingredients and the basin in its progress. Karasu glared up at the hole, but his eyes widened in shock as he saw the shelled monster form of Youko.

Youko glared at him, his eyes fixed on the hand he was holding.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH SHUICHI?" He yelled in rage; each word echoed through the chambers of the lair. With speed fuelled by utter rage, the Youko jumped at Karasu, punching him straight in the face, and sending him flying back into another room, where he and Kurama had talked just a while before. Youko was seething so much, that he couldn't look away until he heard Kuwabara call out and he turned and saw the beaten up carp trying to pull the prince up to the surface. Youko stared at the legs that dangled from the prince, but one more helpless call got him out of the trance and he quickly swam over and put one of Kurama's arms around him and started swimming up as fast as he could.

As they went higher and faster through the water, Youko transferred as much youkai as he could to his lower part, and quickly, his legs merged into one, and his cracked, shelled skin soon changed back into the smooth and lovely pale skin he once had. With his fin grown back, he and Kuwabara finally broke the surface of the water at a much quicker rate.

Even though they were above water, Youko quickly noticed that Shuichi still wasn't breathing. Quickly he started pushing his stomach, and breathing into his mouth. On the third try of his make shift CPR, Shuichi finally coughed up the water which was stuck in his throat, and slump against Youko, breathing heavily. Youko sighed in relief and held the boy close to him.

"Thank goodness…Shuichi." He said and Kuwabara also sighed. Then as if just noticing something, Kuwabara's eyes opened wide and he choked out.

"Y-Youko, you have cuts all over you're body! A-and you just kissed Kurama! What-" He couldn't continue because Youko was not paying any attention to him, and instead was looking at his arms back and tail, and sure enough, there was blood. He sighed and turned to Kuwabara.

"Yes it appears I am slightly injured, we may have to look at that later. It's a side affect to going into my other form. As you know it hurt just changing from one form to the other, so staying in the middle for so long is excruciatingly painful. As for the… kiss with Shuichi-kun it was known as CPR, and is a practiced human thing. It helps someone breathe when they get water and such stuck in their throat. I admit I did skip a few step though." Youko said with a slight laugh. With that the fox started to swim away and Kuwabara looked confused before he followed.

"Hey, where you going," the carp asked in confusion? Youko merely pulled Shuichi's arm up a little mores o the prince's head was further away from the water.

"Somewhere dry; land walkers can't survive in water for so long, so Shuichi needs to get to a safe, dry place and soon. The best place would be Alaric; it's only a 2 hour swim from here." Youko said and Kuwabara sighed and he looked up at the night sky.

"I guess it's another sleepless night while we carry someone…" He muttered and he swam over and put one of Kurama's arms over himself and then they swam together to swam Alaric.

* * *

Karasu coughed as he picked himself up. He had bruises covering his body, and now his dark magic room was destroyed. "Well, I guess it's for the best. After all if I killed Kurama right there, what good would my plan be?" He asked himself as he rubbed his sore head. He was still disappointed of course, but at the moment he knew he would just have to wait. "Anyway, no matter how this ends, I get the prince in the end." He said with a snicker, but he stopped when he heard a hoarse chuckle from the other room. Walking over to the shell door, he pulled it down and swam over to the base of the tunnel, where the disturbing creature was chuckling to itself; its head seemed to heal from before. "So you can still laugh no matter what I do to your body. Strange, I was sure you would be broken after 10 years of torture." The creature stopped laughing, but held a smirk on his scared face.

"Our deal continues on, even though you defeated me along time ago." It said and it turned its head to face Karasu. "If I was to ever meet the person I couldn't find, you would release me, without any harm ever again. And I just heard him. what could you have done to make my love so angry?" The thing asked pleasantly through its hoarse voice. "This Shuichi must be important to my love, I hope to meet him… tell him how nice it is that the foolish idiot moved on after me." He said and Karasu growled and grabbed the thing's tangled, long, black hair and hissed out words of venom.

"He won't even recognize you and this '**Shuichi,**'_**" **_he mocked the nickname Youko called him, "will lose! The only way you'll see him is when I torture him in front of you!" He hissed out but the scarred being still smirked at him.

"He has the legendary match maker on his side!" It said to Karasu, making the shark like merman glare. "The legendary Youko Kurama; trust me Karasu. This case has a good possibility of being your first big lost." It said only to be struck in the head and into the wall.

"I **never **lose, Kuronue, mark my word!" Karasu hissed and he thrust his sharpened nails through the broken bodied demon. "Never!" was the last thing he whispered in his pointy ear before Kuronue cried out in pain.

* * *

Youko huffed as he lay Shuichi down on the beach. He had to drag him out far enough so the tides did not drag him back into the ocean, but fortunately for the 3, the tide seemed to be going out since the sun was just starting to rise. Youko sighed and rubbed his forehead a little. _This is a troublesome predicament we've got ourselves in. Deals with Karasu; what were you thinking Shuichi?'_ He thought sadly.

He hadn't been looking at Shuichi, for the fact that the prince was **completely **naked, and he didn't want to be a pervert. For that reason, he sent Kuwabara to go look for something to cover the prince. Though he had no problem with seeing the prince naked (he had been with Kurama since he was a child, and sometimes bathed him) he knew the prince would. Looking down at the young prince, Youko couldn't help but smile as he moved a hair out of his face. _'Your sleeping face is so beautiful Shuichi, I'm happy I'm the only one who gets to enjoy it right now.'_

He stopped smiling when he noticed something on his neck. Moving more hair aside, he saw a scratch, right below the dip in his neck, and on his bone. Rubbing it a little, he glared at the scratch. "This wasn't there before he visited Karasu." He said. He heard panting and quickly turned to the source of the noise, tensing at the sound at intruder; he clenched his hand as if ready to fight. However he relaxed a second later when he saw a giant orange fish carrying some sort of white fabric behind him.

"I see you found something after a thousand years." Youko said with a smirk and Kuwabara glared and stopped near the shallow water. He hated when Youko bugged him like that.

"Shut up, anyway I got what you wanted. This should cover Kurama nicely." Kuwabara said and Youko crawled over, wetted his gills, and looked over the fabric.

"This looks like an old fashioned sail from somewhere. It's dirty, and has oysters and other living things on it. In other words, this is gross." Youko said distastefully. Kuwabara glared at the silver haired merman.

'_You incredibly picky person,'_ Kuwabara thought. _'Kurama's butt naked and he still criticized me about finding something to cover him! It even covers his damned legs!' _Kuwabara thought angrily. He had never liked humans, and now seeing legs on Kurama was just disgusting to him. '_His scales on his arms were even removed._' His thoughts stopped when he heard a ripping sound. He looked up to see Youko tearing off the worst parts of the sail.

Youko looked satisfied, as he threw the rest of the fragments over his shoulder and put the cleanest part of the sail over Kurama. It was enough to cover his masculine organs, but a lot of his legs still showed. Shrugging at this, he kept eyeing the scratch on his neck, and ran his hand over it. _'It's almost as if something dark has been forced in there to stop it from healing. But what could you have given him Shuichi?'_

Kuwabara glared suspiciously at Youko. "What exactly are you doing?" He asked, noticing the older being's hand. Youko looked at him with raised brows.

"There seems to be something in Shuichi's throat, and I want to know what it is." Youko said with a slight glare. Kuwabara glared back at him and Youko grabbed a shell that was right near his hand and threw it at the giant carp. "Get your mind out of the air and back into the sea, I wouldn't do that to Shuichi while he was unconscious." He yelled indignantly at Kuwabara who massaged his head.

"Alright, didn't have to yell." Kuwabara hissed in pain. But Youko was looking at Kurama's neck again. Kuwabara was curious what he was looking at so he asked.

"I don't know. There's a scratch here with something inside, but I don't know what it is. I'm also worried that this may have something to do with the price he paid." Youko answered and Kuwabara's eyebrows (You know the answer; anime fish!) knit in confusion.

"What do you mean by price?" He asked and Youko was about to explain, when his ears perked up a second time. "Someone's coming! Listen Kuwabara, I can't explain everything right now, but when I have the chance I'll tell both of you. In the mean time; I'm staying with Shuichi, I'll be in my crab form so I shouldn't be noticed. Now shoo, before someone turns you into their dinner." He said and Kuwabara nodded and swam back into deeper water. He jumped though when he heard a voice in his head. _'And don't tell Yomi ANYTHING! I'll hunt you down and eat you if you do anything rash.'_

'_How many times do I have to tell you to stop that?' _Kuwabara yelled back. He would never get use to Youko entering his head. But he did understand the message, and would obey it for now. He thought the best way to do it was to stay away from the sea king. '_The best way to do that is to stay away from Atlora for a while. Maybe I'll just stay here for a while; there aren't so many fish around these parts anyway.' _With that resolved Kuwabara went behind a rock and looked up, seeing who approached.

* * *

Hiei had the worse luck. Or at least that's what he thought at the moment as the loud mouth prince, Yusuke Urameshi, walked beside him. They were heading to the beach where he had met Kurama, together.

Hiei hated this; he intended to go alone to see if there were any notes left by the red head, but now the raven head had been noticing his disappearance's, and came to investigate yesterday night. Unfortunately, Hiei had a nightmare that resolved all around Kurama, where in the end he called out his name, and was therefore now with Yusuke. Let's take a peak at happened that night.

**: FLASH BACK:**

Hiei turned in his sleep, the demon was having a horrible dream, or that's what it seemed to Yusuke who stood right at his door.

The young prince stared at the fire demon and slowly, and as quietly as he could, walked towards him. '_That's strange; the little bugger usually wakes up by now.'_ Yusuke thought confused. As he walked closer, he saw something that caught his interest even more. On the small table beside the fire demon's bed, was a bunch of paper, that didn't look like any sort of bill or paper work. Tip toeing, Yusuke had his rat face on, as he walked to the table (to those who read the manga, you should know the rat face ).

Hiei twitched again in his dream.

'_He was running down a tunnel. It was an unusual one where strange things crawled up the walls, and brown things moved; Hiei hardly noticed this as he kept running. Suddenly, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and Hiei ran even faster. When the fire demon finally got there, he looked around, trying to find out where he was. But his head froze when he saw someone chained to the wall.'_

'_Walking toward the person, his eyes became wider as he saw the red hair cascade down the body, with blood flowing around it, almost blending in with the crimson. Long bangs hid the person's face but Hiei knew who the person was.' _

"_Kura…ma," Hiei asked quietly? The person slowly turned their head towards him and then raised their head, showing the green orbs. But Hiei jumped at the sight at them. They were not the same lively, caring eyes that gazed down at him on the beach, but rather eyes that lost their light; dead eyes. But they hardened, and became the fiercest glare he ever saw, and stepped he back.'_

_'Hi...ie.'_

'_Kurama then stared yelling at him, accusing him of doing the torture that happened to him, that said it was all his fault. But soon his voice started leaving, and he couldn't say anything. Nothing came out of his throat, but he was still yelling, still glaring, and still expressing his hatred as much as he could. And Hiei saw his expression through Kurama's eyes; he Hiei Jaganshi, was afraid!'_

'_Hiei then reached out his hand and tried running to him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach him he couldn't even get near him, as if he was running on one spot. With one last cry he tried to call for him'_

"KURAMA!" Hiei yelled and his eyes shot open and he sat strait up in his bed, his hand reached out in front of him.

"Yo, nice to see you're awake." A voice called to him once he had a few deep breaths, and Hiei instantly looked from where the voice came. Standing in his room, holding his letters, was Yusuke Urameshi. With a glare Hiei barked at him. "Get out!"

Yusuke smirked and held up the letters and smiled as he handed them to Hiei, who snatched them quickly. "God dammit Hiei, you should have told me that he was real. If you showed me this then of course I would have believed you. Who ever this guy is he sure has nice hand writing."

"Get out." Hiei ordered again, his glare becoming fiercer by the moment.

"Man, your new boyfriend sure gives you hard clues."

Hiei snapped and jumped at Yusuke, tackling him to the ground. Yusuke yelped and punched Hiei in the face and kicked him off, but Hiei soon came back and started hitting him with the fastest punches Yusuke had ever seen, so Yusuke had a hard time blocking and hitting back. But Hiei started yelling at him in anger. "THIS IS MY BUISNESS DETECTIVE! I NEVER MEANT TO TELL YOU, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE ME THE FIRST TIME. IF YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE ME THE FIRST TIME THEN WHY WOULD YOU BELIEVE ME LATER?!" Hiei yelled frustrated and he landed one good punch right in Yusuke's face that sent the detective flying.

"Dammit Hiei… I'LL TELL YOU WHY, BECAUSE THEN I COULD HAVE HELPED YOU WITH THIS!" Yusuke then charged forward and elbowed Hiei's arm so hard that it made it bleed, but Hiei just kept blocking and yelled back.

"WHY WOULD I NEED YOUR HELP? YOU'RE SO STUPID THAT I DON'T THINK YOU ACTUALLY EVOLVED FROM THE APES THAT YOU ONCE WERE!" Hiei countered only to get hit in the jaw and he landed on the bed, where Yusuke pinned him down by his wrists.

"Because Hiei, his guy is a tricky bastard who gives you questions a scientist would blow his mind over. Let's face it you need my help, even if it's not as much as you want." Yusuke said to the struggling fire demon under him. Eventually Hiei just stopped and went lax under his grip, and looked up to the smiling prince above him.

"Why do you want to help me? What's in this for you anyway?" Hiei asked gruffly and Yusuke looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Nothing really, but I want to see him. This guy seems interesting, isn't that why you keep mailing to him back?" Yusuke said and Hiei said nothing, nor showed any emotion.

"...If I agreed to this…will you keep this information to yourself?" Hiei asked and Yusuke blinked to himself and nodded. "You blink too much detective."

"Well, maybe ya… but sure Hiei, I won't tell anyone anything…as long as you show me where you get the letters." Yusuke said with a smirk making Hiei glared.

"Did I ever tell you how much I despise you detective?" Hiei said. And Yusuke smiled with a nod. "Fine then…by the way Yusuke. What happens when you touch fire?" Hiei asked with his evil smirk.

"Um…you get burned, why-OUCH!" Yusuke took his hands off the fire demon's wrists when they suddenly got enclosed in fire and Hiei took that chance to kick Yusuke off of him, and role away. Yusuke glared as he sat back up and he blew on his hands. "Okay, I get it. You don't like to be touched, but do we have a deal?"

Hiei stayed silent for a while his face completely void of any emotion. After a while of Yusuke and him staring at each other, Hiei gave a small nod and Yusuke jumped and yelled with joy making the fire demon feel a sweat drop behind his head. "Thanks Hiei, don't worry your secret's safe with me- AND TOMARROW WE MEET KURAMA!" Yusuke yelled with joy.

"He never shows up personally, if there is anything, he'll leave a note. That is all." Hiei said, now cursing his decision as Yusuke talked to him happily. "And he is not my boyfriend!" Yusuke laughed at that.

"Alright whatever you say Hiei. I'm just happy you have sound proof walls, or else Mukuro would kill us for being so loud at night." Yusuke said looking around at the mess they made. Chairs were tipped over or destroyed, glass was broken for the picture frames and almost everything was thrown into the walls from the energy they gave off. "The maids might have a heart attack when they see this." Yusuke muttered.

"Hn." Hiei said and Yusuke laughed even harder.

**: END OF FLASH BACK:**

After glaring at the detective for a while, he suddenly stopped when he heard Pu and he held out his arm and the penguin like bird landed on it. "Any sign of him?" Hiei asked ruffly, and the spirit beast shook his head and Hiei sighed.

"Wait, Pu knew about this and I didn't? You jerk Hiei, way to choose favorites!" Yusuke almost yelled and he glared.

"He brought me 2 of the letters I have while I was doing paper work, and there was a strand of red hair that belonged to Kurama in his feet. I knew then that he not only knows of Kurama, but has come into contact with him. I've recently been using him to try and locate Kurama, despite our deal that we wait until I guess 3 times." Hiei explained and Yusuke's eyes widened in realization. Hiei had been treating Pu with more respect then usual. He even isulted him less.

"Guess he like you more then me…is it weird that I'm getting jealous of part of me?" Yusuke said talking to the spirit beast. Yusuke had hatched the egg himself with his own soul energy, so it was official that the blue penguin was his true self…apparently. Yusuke still had trouble believing that he was a penguin on the inside that kept shouting 'Pu'… Well at least he had his bad mouth.

Pu took off again and flew ahead of them to the beach he often met Kurama at when the boy had a letter. Pu really enjoyed him because he played with his ears and always spoke kindly to him. It was nice change from his human self Yusuke, and his hot headed fire demon friend. Especially since he didn't baby him like the girls at the castle did.

Flying around a giant rock, Pu's eyes widened in surprise when he saw not just one, but 2 people on the beach where Kurama usually met him. Pu's eyes widened even more when he saw that the person's tail suddenly became legs, and he hurried off to get Yusuke and Hiei.

Hiei and Yusuke stopped walking when they saw Pu fly as fast as it could, while squawking in emergency. Hiei and Yusuke hurried over to it, but instead of waiting for them to ask him 'what's wrong', he lead them while making lots of noise, the other 2 followed behind him.

Hiei tried thinking about what could have gotten the bird all riled up, when he realized where they were going and it hit him. '_KURAMA!'_ With a burst of speed which Yusuke barely saw him, he ran ahead of Pu, Yusuke following behind.

Pu however stopped on top of the giant rock instead of going around it, and before Hiei got there, saw the silver haired man from earlier, change forms from a merman to a crab quickly, and hide in a small ripple of the cloth that surrounded the boy's waist, that seemed to stick together.

Hiei showed up no longer then 2 seconds later, and stopped in shock at the giant rock, completely frozen. Yusuke showed up a few seconds later, and his jaw dropped as well.

"I…thought we were supposed to get a letter." Yusuke said in shock, and Hiei flitted over to the red haired man. He looked him over and he gasped in surprise.

The red headed boy was breathing quickly, and there was a slight flush on his face, turning him over, he saw many deep scratches and cut marks into his back. He also noticed the scratch marks that were on the sternum and Clavicle bones. (Breast bone and collar bone.)

Yusuke also started looking him over. "He seems to be alive, and these wounds don't seem too recent… what do you think happened to him?" Yusuke asked and Hiei didn't seem to be showing much emotion. But inside he kept thinking one thing.

'_He looks just like him, is this Kurama?'_

"Hey Hiei!" Snapping out of his trance, Hiei looked at Yusuke.

"No idea what happened, and you're right, every cut except the one on his color bone seems a few days old. However this person has been in the ocean for a few hours now, so he should seek some medical attention."

A small moment of silence passed before a ruffling of clothing happened and Hiei looked at Yusuke who took off his jacket and made the red head sit up a liitleand put the jacket on his shoulders. "Just thinking that he looks cold." Yusuke muttered and Hiei nodded. Yusuke was just about to lift him up bridal style, but when he touched his legs, Kurama tensed up in his arms and jolted his head back in his sleep, making Yusuke let go and Hiei flit over to the other side of his legs. Kurama opened his mouth to utter a small cry, but only air came out.

"I…think he's a mute." Yusuke muttered and Hiei let a breath out.

'_I guess it's not as likely to be him as I thought.'_ Hiei thought and inwardly sighed. While on the outside, his stone like expression remained.

Hiei gently poked Kurama's legs again, and the boy flinched and tried to move his legs away, but stopped again with gasp of pain. "His legs are very cramped; they should be loosened before we carry him." Hiei decided and he looked at Yusuke. "I'm not a doctor, nor am I skilled with muscles, my knowledge on this area is of healing is very limited. Go get Genkai and Yukina; they should know what to do since we can't move him right now." Yusuke nodded and got up and started running. When he was gone, Pu flew down and walked over to the redhead.

"Pu" it cued and the boy's head turned to looked over, and Hiei looked in amazement as the boy's eyes opened for a moment. They barely opened at all, but they looked over at Pu for a moment and a smile formed on his face, and Pu scooted over warily, before the boy's eyes put their attention on Hiei.

'_This is a nice dream…I get to see you again here, and Pu too. I wonder if I lived. if your eyes are real, then I might…be_ …_okay_." Kurama thought as he looked into Hiei's eyes, only to fall back asleep. He was tired and numb everywhere.

"They're…green." Hiei muttered when Kurama fell back in unconsciousness and Pu was cueing happily. "Very green; I never saw eyes like that before." Hiei muttered in awe. As the rays of the sun made Kurama's hair shine, Hiei couldn't help but think. '_Who are you? Are you really him?'_

* * *

Yaaay, it's done. I also provided fan servace to The HieiXYusuke, and the KarasuXKurama fans. To those of you who guessed right from the last chapter, congratulations. Have a cookie gives u cookies and for the rest of u; u can all suckers...no wait, lolipops .

So another chapter is over and done with, I hope u all liked it. I'm sorry if I got people out of character, it was wrong of me. Hiei seems a bit out of it, I should work on making him anti-social. Apart from that, I'm ok with my work. I hope u all liked it. Please review.

And special thanks too Piedad Carrillo, and Tearless(), for reminding me to update. They gelped with my slump. Well that's all, see u all later, and if u havn't voted for the second question on my profile, please do so. thanks.


	16. Chapter 13

**The Sea Prince**

**Chapter 13**

Alo guys, wassup? I'll tell you what; its the 1 year anerversity of this story, whoo hoo! It may not be done yet, but whatever, u guys have stuck with me until the end, and I'm really happy about it . Join me afterwards to sing a birthday song for this fic.

So we've reached the plot, sweet! I got many good replies from you all last time, and I'm rather happy. I know some of you are thinking 'Its about F-ing time' and I will agree. The 2 are together, so lets hope for some action.

One last note before I send out this story. I have finally got an editor! She hasn't made an acount yet, but I want you all to know that I really apreciat her doing this for me. In fact, she may be the whip needed that will get me writing faster, lets hope so.

Without any adew, lets go

mrrow, I'm a kitty. no just kidding, lets go.

* * *

It was a very white room.

That was the first thing Kurama noticed when he opened his blurry eyes. Shaking his head, he tried blinked out the sleep that was stuck in his eyes. When his vision finally cleared he tiredly sat up and looked around the room. '_Where in the world am I?' _he questioned himself as he saw many books and a desk in the room. He was sitting on a bed with a tiny stool and an equally sized cabinet beside him, which had only 2 drawers. There was a vase filled with flowers on the cabinet and a glass of water with some writing equipment beside it.

"I see you're awake, little Shu-chan!" a voice said and Kurama brightened up and turned to face Youko, who was sitting on the small stool right beside his bed in his crab form. Kurama called out his name but his eyes widened when no sound came out of his mouth. He tried yelling again but only air came out and he became highly confused.

"Shuichi, calm down and listen." Youko tried to say but when Kurama turned to him and pulled his legs off the side of the bed, once he saw them he jumped.

'_LEGS- Wait a bed, where's the water? What happened? Where am I?' _Kurama looked around and he started breathing heavily. He was confused, and starting to become scared.

Youko sighed and he quickly held his breath when he turned into his merman form and grabbed the cup of water next to him. When he was a crab, he had no gills so he could breath out of water, however when he was a merman it was a different story. He couldn't breathe unless he was entirely wet. Quickly he dumped the water over the prince's head before turning back into his smaller form. "SHUICHI! Get a grip on yourself." He demanded and Shuichi seemed to calm down with the water on him. As Kurama took deep breaths, he started to remember the events that happened the day before.

Yomi's destruction, his journey through the squid, the deal with Karasu; _'that's right, I'm human now… that's why I can't talk.'_He thought and he turned to Youko. At first Kurama looked at Youko as if the crab had grown 2 heads, but very slowly, the shock vanished, and a big grin slowly crept onto the prince's face. When he was done, he scooped the crab up and would have been shouting loudly if he had a voice. _'My god Youko, I'm a land walker now, this is so cool. I never thought this would work, yes! I LOVE THIS! ITS SO AWESOME!'_

"Hey, Shuichi stop it, this isn't the time to celebrate right now." Youko said but the red headed prince was too happy to listen and kept hugging and swinging him around. Getting slightly annoyed at the boy's behavior, Youko got his claw ready and snapped down on Kurama's thumb making the prince jump. Youko let go when Kurama swung his hand and landed on a tiny cabinet with pencils and other things on top of it. "Shuichi, calm down and listen to me, this is not the time to be celebrating." He said and Kurama put his thumb in his mouth, sucking on the blood.

'_This is a new sensation… Usually the blood always went up and spread around me in the water. This is the first time I saw the blood just go down in a trail. How amazing,' _Kurama thought.

"Shuichi, this is very important, so listen up." Youko said, getting the prince's attention again. "You have gotten us in the most troublesome situation ever created. Apparently you've sold your voice in a deal, you've got 7 days until your time is up and you become a slave, and the only way to avoid that fate is to make an antisocial fire demon with a heart of ice fall in love with you." Kurama nodded every time Youko made a point. "Do you even have a plan?" At that one, Kurama shook his head.

"I see… You are an IDIOT!" He yelled and every thing he could throw, he did at the prince and the boy jump slightly. He grabbed a pillow to block the erasers and pencils coming at him. The crab was so angry that he picked up the cup he had earlier and threw it at the prince. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO THINK AHEAD, BUT NO ONE LISTENS TO ME, NOBODY!" He yelled and Kurama looked from behind his pillow to the desk to see that the crab was panting and out of breath.

Kurama stared at the small form for a while before slowly reaching over, and scooping him up and held him to his chest. '_I'm sorry Youko…I made you worry; please forgive me Youko, I'm so sorry.'_He said, and tried reaching out to Youko in his mind, waiting for an answer.

'_You should be dope!' _Youko said more calmly then before. The price smiled and held the crab out so they could look at each other. '_But Shuichi, I can't completely blame you on everything. You're head wasn't exactly in one piece after Yomi destroyed your haven, and with the trip through the tunnel with just those brown things and the eels; it must have scared you senseless." _

'_Actually Youko, I was alone on that trip. The eels abandoned me part way in. The things that really unhooked me were Karasu's words…and a creature that was near his room.' _Kurama said and Youko tilted his head in confusion.

"What creature?" Youko asked and Shuichi shuddered.

'_Something… with cuts and gashes all over its body… he tried to warn me to leave, but he did it so desperately that I got the wrong idea and almost thought he was attacking me. But the sea demon had a bigger influence on me then the creature did.' _Thinking about something that the sea demon had mentioned, Kurama suddenly looked away from Youko; _'he may actually…hate you.' _Karasu's words repeated in his mind, he couldn't even look at the white crab anymore.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Youko asked with a slight hint of anger in his voice. Kurama looked confused at first; he hadn't sent a telepathic message to him. Then realization hit him. "That's right kid, I've been entering your mind, and might I say whoever said that will die." Youko said making Kurama sighed.

'_Did you…know what the sea queen…?'_Kurama tried to think of the right words to ask Youko, but Youko already understood and nodded. He did know what happened between Queen Luka and Kurama

"I did."

'_Then why didn't you ever do something? Why did you never tell anyone? I was always getting tortured by her, yet you knew and didn't do anything!_' Kurama almost yelled at him. The crab didn't do anything at first. Then slowly, without saying anything, he looked over to where the vase holding flowers was (he didn't throw that because he was too tiny and it was heavy.).

"Do you mind getting me wet; I wish to talk to you in my other form with this kind of conversation." Kurama glared at him, but he did put him on the table and grabbed the vase; pouring a little bit of water on the crab. Without saying much else, Youko glowed a bit, transforming into his merman form one more time. He was completely drenched, but even so, he grabbed Shuichi by the shoulders and brought him into a hug. "I'm sorry, but there was nothing else I could do."

Shuichi's eyes opened in shock and he tried to struggle against the older and taller merman, but after a while, he gaveup. "I confronted her about it after the second time it happened to when you were five; she warned me to keep my mouth shut or she'd kill you." Kurama's eyes widened in surprised and his grip on Youkotightened. "I knew that she would keep her word, so there was nothing I could do to save you without killing her. So I told her this, and I quote: if you ever kill him or mortally wound him in any way, then I will kill her, even though someone would kill me afterwards: end quote. However when I wanted to treat your injuries, she told me to leave them or she'd hurt you more frequently." Kurama fell onto him, his head resting on the merman's wet chest.

'_You only wanted to save me…to keep me alive even if I was hurt.'_Kurama said to him, without using his meager telepathic ability. Youko nodded while putting a hand on the boys head. He felt something hit his chest and he looked down and gasped in surprise. Round tears dropped from Shuichi's face, each turning into a circle like tear, like water you could hold. Youko gathered them with his free hand and quickly wiped the rest away from the boy's face.

"Don't cry Shuichi, it makes me feel worse…and gives me a slight urge to _comfort_you." He said with a raised brow. Kurama wiped away the last of his tears and glared at him.

'_I have no idea what you mean, but I believe your mind is what the humans call 'in the gutter.''_Youko laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Yes it is." Kurama glared a bit more before trying and (this time) succeeding to move away from the pointy eared merman.

"But Kurama, I want you to consider stopping this deal before it's too late." Youko continued far more seriously and Kurama looked shocked at the merman.

"Listen to me Shuichi; you don't know what you've gotten yourself into. You don't even know about the vendetta that Karasu wants. Didn't you find it strange that he would help you so willingly, when the idiotic king who banished and transformed him is your father? That you are an heir to the entire ocean? That includes all the water in the world; lakes, seas- everything! Even the rain could be under your control, along with hale and snow." Kurama nodded.

'_I know and I asked him why he would help me. His answer was he wanted to make Yomimad; in fact it sounded a lot like an answer you would give. I tried to see if there was any other reason, but I saw none. However…he did have a strange glint in his eyes sometimes, and he was really pissed at Yomi when I think back on it. Now I believe there might be more going on then just this deal we've made.'_Youko nodded. '_But even so, I don't want to stop this deal we've made.'_

"What?" He yelled and glared. "Shuichi; I'm telling you now that Karasu does haveplans, and they do involve you. He's not going to make Yomimad by making you human; he's pissing him off when you become his slave." Kurama looked confused and Youko continued. "That's what he wanted if you lose the deal right? I know because I know this demon is far more disgusting then anything you have witnessed. Tell me Shuichi, have you ever heard of rape?" He asked and Kurama crossed his legs to think about it.

He himself heard that demons and humans did it frequently, but he hardly ever heard of that happening under the ocean. There was the case that happened every 70 years or so, but those mermen or mermaids were given the worst kinds of torture later and then killed. With that thought, Kurama shivered and nodded.

"Good that you know, but let me tell you that may be what Karasu plans to do to you." Youko said and Kurama turned white as marble. The thought of rape was disgusting enough, but the thought of it happening to himself was terrifying; especially since Kurama wasn't even of age yet. "But mere physical pleasure is probably not just what he wants; Kurama, please change your mind. Return to the sea, get rid of your legs for your fins. Deals can be undone if the circumstances are too high, just tell him you quit and he'll have no choice but to turn you back." Youko said, making Kurama think it over.

The tension was higher then before now that he knew what the demon wanted. His skin still hadn't turned back to its normal shade as he thought about it; trembling, he thought about it. If he got his fins back now he would still never be able to look his brothers in the eye. If he gaveup now, he wouldn't even use his water power, because he'd feel so pathetic. This is because he gave up without even trying. He also thought about Hiei, and realization dawned on him.

'_This is my only chance to get to know Hiei… as weird as this sounds I don't think I would ever be the same if I just gave up. I have to do this, or I could never face anyone, not even Kuwabara-san."_Kurama thought sadly.

'_Youko, I won't give up right now.'_ He told the merman and he looked strait into the older beings eyes.

Youkogawked and wanted to tell him to give up, that there was more to life then Hiei- but the look in Kurama's eyes stopped him. Kurama was determined to go through with all this, whether he won or lost; Youko knew he couldn't shake him now. _'I guess there's no choice…'_ He thought sadly and looked away for a moment.

"All right Shuichi I give up… you win… we're staying. However-" He shouted the last word at the prince to stop Kurama from celebrating. "I am staying with you at ALL times, and you will let me help. You will not question my methods and you will visit the ocean often. You will also not question any knowledge I show of the human and demon cultures which I will show. I will explain everything tomorrow WHEN we go to the ocean." He said and Kurama looked at him suspiciously.

'…_You're hiding something from me.'_he thought to him and Youko nodded.

"I am, but I will reveal everything tomorrow, so don't worry about it." He told the prince who slightly glared at him. "We have to go Kurama, that idiotic carp will wait for us there. Also, I can tell you everything else which I promised I would tell you both!" He sounded annoyed at the thought of telling the carp anything, but he unfortunately had too. He felt that the carp would do something stupid if he didn't tell him. '_Well…more stupid then usual.'_

"Alright Shuichi, we have one more thing we must work on before we do anything." Youko said and Kurama looked interested. "It's time you learn how to actually walk."

* * *

Yomi paced in his chambers (swim back and forth kind of pace... anime thing!). He was growing restless and worried, especially since his youngest son hadn't returned home at all since the incident. As he swam back and forth, checking the window every so often as if hoping to catch a glimpse of Kurama swimming by; his wife, Queen Luka stared from her thrown with a slight smile on her face. She had been watching him do this for an hour after he told her what happened. She herself could not be more thrilled. This was her chance to permanently ruin the prince, just as she had planned long ago when her mate had shared a bed with **that** woman.

"Relax my love; he deserved that kind of punishment. He disobeyed you and damaged your lovely hands with that attack of his. Face it my mate, he disserved a form of punishment." She said as she had moved over to him and held his hand to her face. She kissed the gash that was on them, as if trying to make the pain from the whip dissapear. The shard whip was a new attack that Kurama had made to be quick and painful: Yomi was lucky that he was able to keep his hand after such an attack.

"But I hadn't given him a chance to explain, Luka, I was horrible. I destroyed his precious possessions, his escape route when life got too hard, I mocked him and forced tears out of his pure eyes…I'm a monster." He said and he closed his eyes and tried to regain control of himself. "He tried to talk, he tried to speak to me, but I hadn't listened. I wish I never entered the carps mind. Now I don't even have the heart to summon Youko. For even the fox demon has been a better father then I have." He said. His thoughts were jumbled together so much that he kept listing the regrets that he had, all revolved around his son. Luka watched with sad eyes, but in her mind they were rolling as she sighed in annoyance.

"Lord Yomi, as I said before; you have done nothing wrong. All _our _other sons have turned out fine, even Jin, and we had to send him to Ireland for his constant disobedence. My love, you can not blame yourself for how this child turned out when his blood is so … different and impure. He was also raised by _that _mermaid, Shiori who is the exact opposite of normal. With her unusual strength and all she must have brought him up wrongly. What could you have done to save a child who was raised so wrongly in the first years of his life?" She told him and he went over to his desk and pulled out a picture and showed it to her.

"…How could this child be raised wrong when he looked so happy, Luka?" He said sharply. The picture was a woman with brown hair, cuddling her 4 year old child who had flaming red hair. The child itself had the greatest smile, which could even melt hearts of ice. "How could she have been a bad mother?" Luca however, had a heart of fire and resentment, all focused around the brunet who had stolen her mate's heart.

"Spoiled probably, how do I know what runs through the mind of the whelp. But listen to me now Yomi." She spoke harshly, gaining the lord's attention. "This child is different then the rest; he breaks rules without much thought, allows himself to be drawn in by humans and demons without thought of his or others safety. He could bring destruction to our race if our kind is ever discovered; what is wrong with opening his eyes? The sea and land are enemies, never to unite, or coexist together. You have told your son many times, yet he refuses to listen and then starts talking to a demon! What have you done wrong besides put him in his place? He is your son, so make him listen and use him as an example for _our_sons. The ones who actually have respect and dignity! Forget about that runt!" She said and Yomi looked surprised.

"How dare you call our son-"

"WHO'S SON! He's not mine, he's yours!" She yelled back at him angrily, and he moved back from her for a moment, his mate became very terrifying when she was mad. "He's **your** son, which you had with that freak of a woman!"

"DO NOT SPEAK BAD ABOUT HER-"

"I'LL SPEAK ANY WAY I WISH ABOUT SOMEONE WHO BEDDED WITH MY MATE! You have cheated on me, slept with someone else and then accepted the child without any regrets until now. What's more is that you treat **my **children differently; you even sent my oldest far away. It's like you'd rather abandon ours over hers! Then you give him more attention, as if my babies are inferior, when that child is a fucking half blood!" Yomi's eyes raised and the water around him swirled in anger, but Luka was also powerful and sheltered herself with a shield. "Jin disobeyed a law when he was younger and much less frequently then the bastard, and you had no regrets when you sent him away, all the way to Ireland waters! Yet you weep in grief by just destroying that child's toys!"

"Jin is more understanding then Shuichi, and older. He knew why I sent him and I knew it was a place that would suit him. He even had to miss Shuichi's first arrival and had to wait a year to see him, but he seemed fine. Jin is an entire different case then Shuichi."

"Wrong Yomi, what is different? Just because of blood? No, you are favoring him Yomi and I find that disgusting." With that, her shield left her and Yomi calmed down the tides he made. "Go ahead and spoil the child and hide the news from your children. It's not like I would be surprised, after all; you tell everything else to them." She said and she swam to the door, but just as she was about to leave, she heard something and turned to Yomi.

"I said you're right, our sons have a right to know. I will tell them tonight." The 2 stared at each other for a minute before the queen nodded and left the room. When the door closed she was smiling evilly and close to laughing. '_Everything is going according to plan.'_

* * *

"One and two, one and two! Excellent job Shuichi, you have mastered the art of walking." Youko said happily. He had already transformed back into a crab and watched Kurama walk. Although the prince was wearing nothing but a large button up shirt that reached his knees, he found it comfortable to walk in. Though he would prefer what the human's call 'pants,' especially after his embarrassment when he tried to stand the first time. He had fallen right on his face, allowing Youko to see his nicely formed rear when his shirt went up. Not that Youko minded, in fact he was in a rather joyful mood as he taught the prince the basics and had even held his hand to help him balance before turning back into his smaller form. '_Today is a good day!'_

The small crab was also surprised at how fast Kurama learned to walk. He had expected the prince to struggle for 30 minutes before they got anywhere, but it only took 5 before Kurama could walk around the room without clinging to the walls (though he did use it to stable himself when he almost fell a few times) and then another 5 minutes later, he was walking perfectly, as if he had been doing it his whole life. Youko had also taught him how to properly get up from laying and sitting positions in case he fell. Now he was telling the prince to start standing on one leg. '_He's a fast learner, and has adapted to walking using his graceful techniques. He looks like he could be a dancer from the way he walks... but he may get tired easily if he goes on too long, so he should be careful.' _

Kurama couldn't stand on his foot any longer before falling down again, and he quickly covered himself to make sure Youko didn't see his butt or length again. He blushed when Youko started laughing.

"Relax kit- I mean kid! It's not like I haven't seen it before," he said making the prince blush even deeper before he got up. Youko smiled and told him what he thought, "Your walking is fine, but due to the fact that your legs are new, I suggest you stop walking if you get too tired. Your balance is okay, since you could stay on 1 foot for thirty seconds, but fell after it. Try catching yourself next time Shu-chan, and other then that you're fine. Though once we find a larger room we should practice your running." Kurama nodded and smiled happily.

'_Is there anything else I should work on Youko? Does my style of walking look weird?"_Kurama asked telepathically before sitting on the bed again. Youko smiled from inside of his shell.

'_Far from weird my precious prince,' _Youko thought with a smirk, partly thinking that Kurama had really sexy legs and a great walk to match.

"No, its fine Shuichi don't worry about it. We'll work on it more tonight." He said and Kurama smiled and nodded. The young sea prince was about to say something else but stopped when he heard a click. Getting up, he looked around the curtains that separated his bed and the door across from it and saw a young girl with aqua blue hair come in. The girl gasped when she saw him and ran over.

"No sir, please don't stand, you should recover your strength more," she said and ran over to push him down onto the bed. He looked confused but noticed other people coming in after her. However he didn't get a good look before he landed on the bed and was forced to lay down by the young girl who covered him with the blanket again.

Yukina smiled down at the boy, happy that he seemed to be feeling better. '_Though he does seem to be a bit frazzled and confused; I should probably explain what happened.' _

"I'm so glad you're okay now, when I first saw you your legs they were causing you such discomfort. Then I learned with master Genkai that your muscles were extremely clenched, as if you have used them too much; like if you ran for hours on end. We don't understand how you made them like that, but master Genkai has soothed them. But we want you to stretch them from now on, every night before bed and when you wake up in the morning."

Kurama seemed to edge away from her and looked even more confused then before. As he looked at her face, his eyebrows started to come together, as if in thought. Yukina looked confused. "Oh I'm sorry; I'm Yukina the healer of the castle! And behind me is Master Genkai, she did most of the work, but I healed the cuts on your back." She said and Kurama spared the old lady in the back a glance before bowing. He also bowed to Yukina before staring at her face again.

'_Is it my imagination or does she look just like-'_

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're a fool who just loves a woman's body and nothing else? If that's the case then just leave before I get any reports and have to kill you." A gruff voice told him and Kurama whipped his head to the speaker. Standing there was the man he had fallen for, and the person who he traded his voice to be with.

'-_Hiei!'_

"Hey calm down runt, nothings wrong with staring." A taller teen said and he put his elbow on Hiei's head, as if using it for an arm rest. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you kid, my names Yusuke, Yusuke Urameshi. I'm a prince," he said and Kurama felt like laughing but decided against it when Hiei started glaring and punching the idiot's arm off his head. Not forgetting his manners, he nodded his head lightly in a bow.

That small bow caught both Hiei's and Yusuke's attention, but they didn't say anything about it. '_That was how other princes or princesses are supposed to bow to each other, not a commoner to a royal member style.' _Hiei thought and he looked at the red head.

"Dimwit, stop being an idiot and act more formal. Right now he's probably thinking that you're a joke!" the old lady barked from the corner, and Kurama subconsciously held his right arm with his left hand as turned away.

Yusuke glared at the old woman but he stopped when he heard someone coming. Curious, he turned around to see who it was. His eyes widened when he saw Mukuro coming, her soft footsteps were hardly noticeable at first, but became drums when the others saw her and became quiet. Genkai gave a deep bow while Hiei only nodded his head and slanted his shoulders, Yusuke did the same.

The tall woman walked past her heir and prince from Tourin, Yusuke's future territory. As she turned and walked past the curtain that hid her from view, Yukina gasped and bowed deeply, not raising her head. When Mukuro looked at the red head, he seemed surprised, but he took a quick glimpse of Yusuke and Hiei from the corner of his eye before bowing too.

"…Were you taught to bow like that?" The woman asked with a raised brow, and Kurama looked up and nodded, looking her straight in the eyes. "That is interesting, I would like to hear more about you during dinner, please wear something formal for the occasion. You will sit across from my heir, Hiei the Jaganshi." She said and Kurama's eyes widened and Hiei glared. "You seemed surprized young one, but trust me; its only formal. Besides, I would like to discuss something with you." She said to Kurama.

"What, why should I have to look at a fool?" Hiei said annoyed but Yusuke backed Mukuro up.

"She's right Hiei, listen to what your mum says."

"She's not my mom, detective!" He said angrily.

"Then boss, either way this will be great. In fact, tell us about yourself. That way...um...we can get to know you better," Yusuke said cheerfully and without thinking. Hiei glared even more at the idiotic comment and grabbed Yusuke by the hair, dragging him off while ignoring the others protests in pain.

"Excuse us!"

Kurama watched his love drag the idiot away, and a sweat drop appeared behind his head. When they went behind the curtains though his thoughts trailed away. Nervously, he started rubbing his arm as he thought about his new problem.

'_Now I'm in trouble; how do you explain that you're a merman from the sea who's actually a prince without sounding insane! Obviously I'll have to think something up that doesn't sound too far fetched, while staying as close to the truth as possible. Especially since I'm not always such a great lier.'_ He thought calculatingly, completely ignoant to the conversation with Hiei and Yusuke near by.

Hiei was talking to Yusuke in angered whispers. "I'm going to kill you! What the hell are you thinking detective." Hiei hissed and Yusuke smirked in return.

"You told me the guy you remember has green eyes and red hair. God damn it he has the same traits, he might be who you're looking for." He said and Hiei glared again.

"The dreams become fuzzy after an hour or so and I can't remember what he looks like, and after you hit me on that fateful day, I lost most of my memories of his looks. The eyes and hair are pretty much it. Even in my dreams he remains a mystery."

"More the reason, so lets take a look at this guy, he may be the key to your lover boy."

Hiei's glare was more terrifying then before as he looked at the human. "I. Do. Not. Love!" He said, pronouncing each syllable as if they could kill.

"Whatever, just agree you idiot." Yusuke said and the conversation was cut short when the queen spoke.

"Enough everyone, I will agree with Yusuke, and I something that I would like you to accept, child." Her normal and glass eye turned to Kurama and a smirk grew on her face. "Would you be willing to accept a job?" Kurama's eyes widened and he thought about it.

It would cut into his time with Hiei and planning, he also had no idea what kind of job that he could do without talking. However he would spend time with Hiei at the dinner table, which was an honor (or so he read). Weighing the pros and cons Kurama pointed to a piece of paper that Yukina was holding, while he grabbed a pen that was still on his bed from Youko's tantrum earlier.

Yukina's eyes widened before giving it to him and he paused before writing. _'Hiei has seen my hand writing, but I don't think now would be the best time to reveal who I am. So I should print." _He thought as he wrote down some words, they were a bit shaky, but readable. He scowled at his work. _'I prefer writing rather then printing these types of letters.'_

Mukuro took the paper from his hands when she knew he was finished and read it over once.

May I ask what the job is first?

Mukuro raised a brow at him again. "I'll tell you at dinner, you can decide then. However you haven't said a word since you awoke and I must know the reason, now."

Kurama lowered his eyes for a second, and then put a hand on his throat and opened his mouth. He seemed calm as he mouthed 2 words; 'I can't.'

Mukuro gave him a calculating look before turning. "That's fine but make sure to get a note book as soon as you can so people can understand what you want. I will not let you roam alone with no means of communication, and most importantly; I will kill you with my bare hands if I find out that you are faking this." She said and Kurama held her gaze before nodding. "Good, now if you excuse me, I have important things to deal with." She said and turned and left and Genkai who followed behind her.

Hiei glared at her as she walked away and Yukina sighed. He looked back and forth between the two and as Kurama watched the two, he couldn't help but think that they looked alike.

"What are you looking at?" Hiei asked and Kurama looked for some paper which Yukina was happy to get for him.

"I'm sorry sir, but I have to leave for a moment to get you some pants, and then I'll call for Keiko to send you to her room." Kurama nodded and waited until she left the room to look at Yusuke. Smiling, he held up the piece of paper and Yusuke turned red slightly.

Are you really a prince? You seem really…laid back.

"Of course I'm a prince; what made you think I wasn't?" He asked and Kurama just waved his hands, as if trying to say no reason, but silently he was writimg over 20 reasons on a piece of paper; Hiei just huffed.

"There are so many reasons it's impossible to number." Hiei said and Yusuke glared at him. Kurama nodded and Yusuke glared back at him. Kurama smiled and pushed the light blankets off of him and swinging his legs over the bed, he stood up. Yusuke glared when he walked over and passed him a folded piece of paper the red head had been writing in, and snatched it. As he opened it up, he gapped at the piece of paper. Written it was all the reasons Kurama had put down on why he thought he was a clown more then a prince, their were even words that he thought described Yusuke, and put them in alphabetical order. Yusuke raised his head and looked at the smiling redhead.

"Okay buddy, if you insist on calling me a 'non chary' blah blah etcetera; then how about I kick your ass in return." As he yelled the last words, he aimed a powerful punch at Kurama who had to bend back in time to avoid it, but had to jump backwards when another came soon after. Kurama tried to protest by calling things out, but no sound came as he figured out earlier. He was having trouble dodging it all and had almost lost his balance many times but had caught himself at the last minute.

Yusuke smiled and aimed one last punch ay the man's stomach, but Kurama saw this and without thinking of consequences, grabbed Yusuke's wrist and pulled it behind him causing Yusuke to fall forward. As Kurama turned his body sideways, he made the prince tumble in front of him. Before the prince could block, Kurama elbowed him in the face, throwing the raven head backwards into the wall. Kurama on the other hand, had his footing all mixed up and fell backwards and hit his head on the cabinet.

Yusuke landed next to Hiei, making slight cracks in the wall as he hit and slid down onto his butt. Yusuke looked up in shock at the redhead who was crouched on his knees while he rubbed his head. He winced as he rubbed, all the hair that once stayed behind his head, now fell on his shoulders where his side locks were. Hiei watched, looking emotionless as ever, but in his mind he was shocked. Not only had Kurama dodged all of Yusuke's hits, but had even caught one and hit him in return.

'_Even though Yusuke was holding back, that is nothing to take lightly. I will find the source of your power and then I will fight you." _Hiei thought with another smirk crossing his face. However his brows furrowed when the redhead's eyes widened and he jumped up and hit the desk again. Looking down, Hiei saw a small white crab with its claws snapped onto Kurama's hand.

Kurama was too busy paying attention to his head to notice the angry crab that had fallen off the cabinet when he collided. Having fallen from such a height and distance only to see Kurama act so rash had pissed him off. Now he had to burn off some steam. Kurama would have yipped, if he had a voice, when the sharp pinchers clamped down on his finger again.

Yusuke also saw Kurama jump and they looked down, the 2 princes saw a tiny white crab attached to the redhead's finger, which looked angry if that was possible for a crab. As they looked at it they both got a weird feeling. Passing it off as confusion, the same thoughts crossed their minds; '_Where did that thing come from.'_

When Youko let go Kurama put his newly bleeding finger in his mouth, while the crab turned and stared at Yusuke and Hiei. _'It's the short one I'll have to convince, but maybe the other can help as well. He seems just as interested in Shuichi and maybe I could use him to help me make Hiei fall for Shuichi. I only have a week so I'll have to work hard; so let the match making begin.' _He thought with a gleam in his golden eyes. Both Yusuke and Hiei felt a chill as they saw it.

Kurama meanwhile glared at the crab and was starting to get angry, something that didn't happen that often. Taking a deep breath in and releasing it, he relaxed slightly. Looking down at the crab, he glared at him before grabbing him by the pinchers and raising him in the air. _'You jerk! What was that for it hurt,' _Kurama yelled at the crab in his mind and getting the crab even more annoyed.

'_Shut up Shuichi, I'm trying to figure something out.' _He said and Kurama lowered his head for a moment so the bangs covered his face, Yusuke and Hiei looked confused, having no idea what was happening between the 2.

'_The redhead looked mad though,' _Yusuke thought and Hiei was looking at Kurama's hands. He noticed the cuts on his thumb matched the one on his other finger.

'_That crab did that earlier.'_He concluded and decided to ask the needed question. "What the hell is that crab doing here?" He said and when Kurama looked up he saw a glint of mischief in his eyes. Afterwards he closed his eyes, and his smile turned into a really happy one, and you could almost see a pink aura surround him. Putting the crab down on the cabinet again and stepping back, he used the pen in his hand and wrote on the palm of his hand. He continued smiling as he showed the 2;

He's my pet!

There was a bunch of snapping and they turned to the crab that kept clapping his pincherss as if in angry protest. Looking between the two, Yusuke had to laugh as he stood up. "It's not a thing you can teach to role over and sit; but what the heck. What ever floats your boat is fine with me." He said and slapped the redhead on the back. Kurama gave him a weird and disbelieving look. "What," he asked. Kurama touched the bruise on his cheek and Hiei's eyes lowered.

'_What's this feeling? Whatever, its merely an __inconvenience'_ he thought looking away.

'_Believe what you wish young lord.' _Hiei's eyes snapped open and his Jagan cracked open to see who intruded his mind, only to find nothing but him, Yusuke and Kurama in the room. After finding no other youkai around, he looked back at Yusuke and Kurama.

"Oh I get it now! Nah, I'm not mad about the hit earlier, though it was a pretty good one. And you didn't even use spirit energy on me. You must be pretty strong, even with your skinny arms." The man said and Kurama slightly glared. It was then that they heard the door slam, and the 2 froze.

"YUSUKE YOU JERK!" The said prince and Kurama froze and looked around to see a very angry brown headed girl at the door. Kurama heard the raven head beside him gulp before stuttering a name.

"K-Keiko when did you get here; I didn't sense you come in." He asked nervously before the girl walked up to him while glaring. Kurama went under the boy's arm and to the wall as the woman approached. If there was one thing he did not want to be a part of, it was a girls rage in a lovers quarrel.

"I just walked in! I can't believe you would be so rude to someone who's been unconscious for a few hours! HOW COULD YOU BE SUCH A JERK?" She yelled and Yusuke got angry as well.

"HEY! Don't yell at me, I was actually complimenting him in case you didn't notice! We just got into a fight a while ago, and I decided to compliment him." He said and Keiko held his gaze.

"You just said he had skinny arms! I know he may look a little thin but you still shouldn't say that!" She said and Yusuke laughed.

"Come on Keiko he looks like a pussy."

"YUSUKE," Keiko yelled angrily.

'_I'm really starting to get pissed off, and why are these two fighting about me anyway?' _Kurama thought and eyed Hiei who was busy rolling his eyes. _'Judging by his expression this must happen a lot.'_ Sighing, he grabbed a piece of paper off a desk, making sure nothing was written on it. He heard a loud slapping noise and looked up for a moment to see the girl completely red in the face and the prince on the ground with a hand print on his face. _'What did I miss?'_

'_An act of a pervert, just ignore them and give them the note.' _He heard Youko say and he just did what he said. He was getting use to the crab coming in and out of his mind at will. Calmly he walked over to Keiko, stepping on the man in the process and handed her the note. Her eyes widened as she looked at him and took it.

I do not mean to be rude, but may I ask who you are and why you came here?

Keiko smiled warmly at him and then answered his question. "My name is Yukimura Keiko, and I work here as a maid for the palace. I also consider baby sitting that idiot down there as part of my job though." She said with a laugh and Kurama smiled.

'_It seems like no one respects him as a prince here.' _He thought calmly, not really caring. The same thing happened to Jin as well in his palace, the only difference was that Jin wanted it that way and laughed with everyone. That was his care free nature, and Kurama believed Jin and Yusuke would get along well.

"Also, I'm here to give you some cloths and bring you to your room. Yukina would have done it but she heard that someone was getting a fever and decide to ask me to do it instead." She explained and Kurama smiled and nodded as she gave him some cloths. He then got on the bed and closed the curtains around him, he may not have been modest about his chest, but he would never allow himself to be completely naked in front of someone. That would be embarrassing and improper (in truth he was actually modest about being naked).

Kurama started unbuttoning his shirt first, taking it off fully, he then took a moment to study his body completely for the first time. His scales on his arms were gone now; in their place was a tiny amount of hair that covered him, all blending into his rather pale skin nicely. When he looked at his back, he noticed that the cuts were gone, nothing was there that could have indicated years of abuse at all, there weren't even scratches. When he looked down farther, he blushed.

'_So that's why humans and demons wear pants and skirts, they don't have special pouch we merpeople have to cover themselves properly. So they improvise.'_ He thought as he grabbed the pants. He stopped though when he saw boxers under it and he picked them up. '_…Is this "the underwear" I heard about in a book? I guess I should try it.' _He thought and put them on first before the pants. Smiling, he moved his legs enjoying the comfortable fabric against them. Normally, any type of clothing underwater was tight and sticky, so it wouldn't slow you down underwater. However the human cloths seemed light and soft. Rubbing against skin rather then stick to it, Kurama enjoyed the change and opened the curtain before putting his shirt back on.

Keiko blushed and stepped back as he opened the curtain. Kurama was always stunning, but since he showed off his bare chest, the first thing anyone could do was blush. Except for Hiei, but even his eyes widened a fraction. _'…He looks…NO shut up!'_

"Put on your shirt!" Hiei said gruffly and threw a pull on shirt to the redhead who caught it easily.

'_Stop denying yourself, you can at least admit he looks nice, at least to yourself.' _Hiei looked around again and glared.

'_Who are you?'_ He waited for an answer, and after a while one came.

'_I'm no one of importance. As for yourself, Hiei, you shouldn't lie to yourself it's unhealthy. Besides, what harm could come from admitting that someone is good looking?'_

Hiei looked at Kurama again now that he had his shirt on; he was smiling with Yusuke and Keiko as they scolded him about wearing a shirt, while he just waved them off. Hiei sighed and looked away repeating the words in his head that the voice just told him. _'Is it…so bad…?'_

Kurama turned to him and smiled, forcing the prince to sigh._ 'Fine, he isn't… ugly!'_

* * *

Kurama was led to his room by Keiko as he learned about the castle. She told him about its history, where some rooms were forbidden to enter, about the power balance between the human governments and the Makai lords, and about on coming events.

"-So other then a ball coming up tomorrow, there won't be anything happening for a while. You might be asked to help decorate but chances are you shouldn't be asked to do much. Any other questions?" She asked and Kurama nodded and started writing but she stopped him. "Um, sorry but we're at your room now; why don't you ask Yusuke about the rest when you eat with them, okay?" She asked. The young man seemed to be excited about something. Then again, after waking up in the middle of nowhere, he must have been curious about everything and especially of those who took him in.

Kurama seemed to understand, and began to write on the paper he brought with him and showed it to her.

Sorry for the trouble, its just that I've never been in a palace like this before.

"Oh its no trouble, it's just that I'm not use to answering so many questions. Personally there are some things I don't even know about this place, so I'll have to brush up on learning more before I can answer all of your questions." She said while smiling and using the bedroom key to open the door to his room. Kurama's eyes opened wide when he saw it.

The bed was large, about a queen's size bed, with white blankets covering it. There were 3 pillows, 2 on each side of the bed that took up its width, and 1 on top of them in the middle. It was actually a rather decent room, with a closet and a cabinet, most likely with cloths inside. On the left side with the furniture, was a rather large curtain with a window behind it; Kurama was curious about what the view would look like.

Keiko grabbed his arm, commanding him to walk over to a small door on the opposite side of the room, away from the cloths and to a door that was all by itself. Opening it, Kurama saw a toilet, a rather large bathtub in the middle of the ground, with an interesting type of shower, one with a rather large head in the center of the tub.

"Ah, my bathroom is bigger." Keiko said with a smile. Kurama looked at her with a face full of shock, confusion and overwhelment. Keiko knew his question right away. "Oh don't worry about the room, the reason its large is because you'll be expected to do hard work. Also lots of people share rooms here, or like to visit each other during breaks and such; you know, for adult situations and just to hang out. The rooms are large in comparison to most rooms for maids and palace workers, but since Mukuro forces us to do harder things, she gives us a nice room in return, as a hope that we'll stay. Personally I've been working here since I was little, allowing me to get use to the loads of chores she makes us do." Kurama slowly nodded and fell on his bed, still overwhelmed. "Don't worry about it too much, but there are some rules we're expected to follow. 1.) You have to keep it clean and tidy at all times, so make sure you make your bed; you also have to strip it once a week. 2.) Keep the bathroom clean, and don't drip water everywhere. 3.) If you stay up late, you have to be quiet; you're not aloud to wake anyone up, even your lover. 4.) If you want to put your room in any type of style, you have to do it yourself and inform the person in charge of you. You also have to get Mukuro or Hiei's permission. All the other rules are on this sheet of paper that I'll give to you now."

Kurama took the paper from her hand as she gave it to him and read it over. _'There are quite a few rules; I suppose I should hang this up somewhere where I won't forget.' _He decided and looked up at her again with a smile. He lowered his head in a bow, as thanks for helping him and Keiko smiled and blew it off with her hand.

"Its okay you don't need to thank me. Just be good at work and follow the rules, if you don't my butt's going to be hulled as well." Kurama nodded and Keiko walked out the door with a smile. When she was gone he walked to the curtains and pulled them aside, he gasped at what he saw.

There wasn't windows, but rather glass doors which had silver handles on each one. Outside lead to a small balcony with the loveliest view Kurama could've seen for his first glimpse of the human world.

He opened the doors and stepped out of his new room to lean on the balcony. Closing his eyes, he breathed in the air around him, a scent that didn't involve any type of sea water or salt for the first time. _'This is so peaceful, if only I could stay here forever.' _He thought, dreamily opening his eyes_._ Before him was a sight that could steal anyone away. There was a small cove where he could see part of the beach, possibly were he washed up on and where he left his notes. But mostly he saw deep green forests with trees and hills and in the distance he could see a large mountain with snow and some trees. Looking on his right, he could see buildings in the distance which probably indicated a small town. _'It would be nice if Hiei and I could go there…'_

After a minute of gazing, he quickly remembered the crab in his pocket and took him out and placed him on the ledge. "It's about time Shuichi; what took you so long!" The crab said and Kurama smiled and pointed behind the crab who faced him. When Youko turned around, his jaw dropped at the sight. They stayed like that for a while before Youko heard some shuffling beside him and he looked over to see the sea prince swing his legs over the baluster. He then sat down; swinging his legs with a childish smile on his face, enjoying the breeze from the wind.

"Shuichi, get back on your feet! The last thing we'd want right now is suspicion. Not to mention if you fall then you're going to DIE!" He shouted the last word but Kurama shrugged.

'_Then I won't fall, problem soved. Besides ths is how I usually sit on a balcony at home, it's the most comfortable, and you get to feel the tide- I mean breeze better…' _He told Youko, making the older fox sigh.

"Fine, but get in here anyway. I want you to take a bath before dinner, and since people prefer hair to be dry on land, we best to start now. It will take your hair a while to dry after all given its length." Youko explained and Kurama pouted and got back onto the balcony, almost falling over in the process. After he caught himself, he walked back over to Youko who was still talking. "Also Shuichi, since this is your first bath, I'll take it upon myself to watch you, and make sure you don't hurt yourself. In other words I'm taking it with you." Kurama who had picked up the crab and was walking through his room towards his bathroom stopped in mid step and dropped the crab onto the ground.

'_YOU JUST WANT TO SEE ME NAKED YOU PERVERT!' _Kurama yelled in embarrassment and Youko protested.

"I do not, I want to help you. Besides we use to take baths together all the time, what's the difference now?" The crab asked with a smile and Kurama didn't answer, he just kept looking at the crab in suspicion. "See, no response, now I'll go fix your bath; come in when you're ready." He said happily and Kurama stared after him as he went into the bathroom.

Kurama kept staring for a while, formulating a plan. After a few minutes, he heard the water start and the sound of something being filled. _'I guess I should go in now.'_ With that, he started taking off his shirt, but not before reaching into the bathroom and grabbing a towel.

Youko waited in anticipation as he relaxed in the tub. The water was hardly warm, and was almost ice cold, but Youko did this because he wasn't sure if Shuichi's body would react well in hot water. When he heard the door creek open, he turned around with a smile. "Hello Shuichi, I hope you enjoy the water, I hope the temperature is-" Youko's jaw dropped as he saw Shuichi. He had walked in completely naked…except for the fact that he had a towel around his waist. Without saying a word (not that he could) Kurama walked over to the bath and sat in with Youko, not taking the towel off for a second. Since it was a large tub, the 2 could've shared and not even touch each other, so Kurama stayed close to his side.

"…You live to annoy me sometimes, don't you?" Youko asked and Shuichi glared.

'_I knew you just wanted to see my body, pervert!' _With a sigh and a pout, Youko didn't comment and grabbed the sponge that was on the side, and started putting soap on it. He didn't say a word as he helped bathe the young prince.

_'This water is really warm, how nice!' _Kurama thought happily, ignoring Youko's disappointment

'_This'll be a **long** week!'_ Youko thought as Kurama smiled from the attention.

* * *

wheeee, r we ready? good and a 1 and a 2 and-

Happy birthday 2 you,  
You got good reviews.  
You may take forver  
But we love you for sure

Happy birthday Sea prince, I hope you get many gifts, also known as reviews. Whoo-hoo (hint hint.)


	17. Chapter 14

**The Sea Prince**

**Chapter 14**

...I'm sorry, for taking so long. In October... a dear friend and family member of mine passed away. He was my cat Thomas, and he and I had been together since I was 3-4 years old. It was like we were siblings... ans I miss him dearly still, but I'll be alright. I always am...

On a happier note, merry Christmas, or happy Hanuka. I hope you enjoy my gift to you all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was 20 minutes before dinner time and the three royal members waited for Kurama to join them. It was a custom in there palace to show up thirty minutes before the actual meal so they all could talk. Unfortunately, they all forgot to inform their guest about this, and waited for the servant they sent to retrieve him.

Mukuro of course blamed Yusuke and Hiei (mostly Hiei) for not informing the redhead, and had 'scowled' them already. So now, Yusuke and Hiei had bandages right above their left eyebrows, both from Mukuro's rage. Yusuke cursed himself for forgetting, and Hiei cursed Yusuke for distracting him all day, therefore making him forget as well..

'_This would not have happened if the detective hadn't disturbed me while I was doing my paperwork earlier.'_ He thought, thinking back on his and the detectives conversation earlier.

**FLASH BACK**

Hiei looked over the piece of paper in front of him before deciding that it was good enough before stamping it. He was half way done his tax report for the blueprints of an entirely different tax system for the country and, could be done by the end of the week…if he didn't have any other distractions like the one he was having right now. Yusuke kept pacing in front of his desk, mumbling about who knows what.

Hiei had to listen to the idiot's mumbling, while sometimes yelling words like 'I GOT IT' and "YES' randomly. Now Hiei had had enough, so he glared at the pacing idiot.

"Detective, in case you haven't noticed, I'm busy and want to be left alone. So get out!" Hiei said angrily as he got another piece of paper out.

"Come on Hiei, I know you must be curious about the little red head that's washed upon your shores. It might be the man who sends you notes, who you dream about who you lo-"

"If you say 'love' one more time I'm going to kill you!" Hiei said while unsheathing his katana. Yusuke felt sweat pour down the back of his head.

"I meant um… admire! Admire is what I meant." The teenager said while holding his hands up. "But seriously Hiei, there has to be a connection. They both have red hair and green eyes, and judging by when he hit me, he's pretty strong; maybe enough so that he could swim from where we were to this island. Think about it Hiei, even if he isn't the guy you remember, he could be one of the clues to the person your looking for." Yusuke said this seriously. Hiei had already re-sheathed his sword and was looking over a new document. However, once Yusuke's speech was over, he sighed and put it down.

"He could be, or he could be an assassin out to kill me, you, or both of us. Yusuke, why on earth should I jump to the conclusion that he's Kurama? The Kurama I know had a voice, and moved with grace. This person can't find proper footing or speak. How can you be so certain about someone who you have not even met, and just heard about in some strange paper?" Hiei stated and Yusuke stared down at him.

"…I don't know" He answered and sat down, straddling a chair to look at Hiei. "I don't know why but I feel that there is a connection between the 2. I may have never seen the guy, heck, I don't know the first thing about the swimmer in the ocean; but I feel a strange sense of déjà vu. It's like I do know him, but don't. I think it's from Puu." Yusuke explained and Hiei looked at him, completely void of any emotion in his eyes and face, but Yusuke sensed that the tiny demon was interested, he could almost see the midget's ear twitch.

"You didn't think of him, did'ja? Well we both know Pu doesn't like just anyone, and seems really good at telling the good guys from the bad. So let's do an experiment, and see if we can introduce him to Pu. Depending on the little guy's response, we'll instantly find out if this guy wants us dead or not." Yusuke said with a smirk, making Hiei's eyes narrow.

"Detective, if we just randomly introduce the bird, he could just pretend that they never met. Also, what if he's just some random bird lover? Then he would like the bird no mater what, your plan has too many holes in it." He told the other prince and Yusuke smirked.

"But Pu already recognizes him, remember?" Hiei glared, but knew what the prince was talking about. When they first saw the red head on the beach, he flew right up to him and while the others were away, put his ear on the man's chest and listened to his heart to make sure he was alive. He also tried to get water for him when he was asleep in the hospital room. Pu never showed that much compassion unless he knew the person **and** liked them.

"See Hiei, this guy may have a better chance at being your lover boy then you thought." He said with a laugh. However, he stopped instantly when he heard the sliding of a katana against its sheath, then his eyes bulged out as he stared at Hiei.

"I thought I mentioned," Hiei said slowly, finally taking the katana fully out of his sheath. "Too not mention 'love' again. I guess I have to carry on with my original threat and kill you." Hiei said and he flickered off and appeared in front of Yusuke not even a second later. He then started attacking the prince, making the detective dodge and run around his room. Hiei kept trying until Yusuke made it out the door and closed it on Hiei, just as he made a lunge. The sword then got stuck between the crack in the door and the wall where it closed. Glaring, Hiei removed his sword and went back to his desk to slump in his chair.

'_Kurama… are you really him? Why would you lie to me? You said 3 guesses before you showed yourself, I want to have those guesses… to figure you out and to find out what you are. Is this a clue? Where's your voice? Most importantly, who is that voice that talked to me in my mind?'_Hiei questioned himself. He was worried about that man who entered his head, even when he was using the jagan. What's worse was he couldn't find him when he searched, even though he used the said third eye. Whoever talked to him must've had extreme telepathic abilities.

'_Whoever it was, he was an idiot. Who would use such powerful abilities, to make me admit that someone was beautiful…not that he was!'_

Hiei thought determined. However, try as he might, he couldn't help but think about what Yusuke had said, and about the voice which haunted him…it also didn't help that he kept thinking about the red head without his shirt on. With all these distractions, he couldn't do anymore work, before he headed down to supper.

**END FLASHBACK**

Hiei scratched his head in frustration, right the ward which covered his jagan eye.

"Is something wrong Hiei?" Mukuro asked calmly and Hiei glared at her.

"Hn!" was all he said and Mukuro smiled.

"Alright then I won't pry; but I am curious about how our new guest will look, now that he has had the time to properly groom himself." Mukuro said with a smirk as she entwined her hands together and put them under her chin. "I bet he's really handsome under all that ruffed up hair and sweat. What do you boys think?" She asked and Yusuke stuck his tongue out in disgust.

"Ew, gross Mukuro. I can't believe you checked him out and want us do the same. In case you haven't noticed neither Hiei nor I are gay." The young prince pointed out and Mukuro's glass eye flashed white in the light as she turned towards them.

"Those terms are not used in Makai Urameshi-san; I thought I told you that already. Besides Hiei never said he didn't want a male lover; he just insists that he doesn't want anyone. There's a difference Yusuke." She told him and Hiei glared at them both.

"I don't need either of you to speak for me, so do not mention any 'preferences' I may have. I am not attracted to anyone; neither do I care about the differences in sex. So shut up!" That was his last remark before he turned his head away from them.

Mukuro smiled as she looked at him, and relaxed as he looked away. _'You may not like anyone right now, but I'm sure that will change in time. Someone is sure to get you out of those icy chambers which you surround your soul in…someday.'_ She thought before she heard footsteps approaching. She turned to face the extremely long table, which the 4 would be dining at.

Hiei also glanced over and his eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

It was the same redhead he saw earlier, but at the same time, he was much more beautiful then before. When he first saw him, he was wearing tattered rags and had dried sand, sweat and other filth attached to his skin, and his hair was a mess with tangles and grime. The second time he saw the mysterious man, his hair was still a mess and he still had that over whelming scent. He also was not wearing much then as well, and the shirt he did wear made it so he couldn't see his slim form like before. However, this time, it was like seeing him for the first time all over again.

This redhead had hair that shined like the setting sun, which was neatly tied back in a low ponytail with a dark black ribbon, which wasn't tied properly so the stings just mixed with the red locks. He also had finally cleaned up, and his new scent was rather calming to Hiei. The red head carried the scent of the ocean with him, but not the over powering one like before, but a light, sweet but somewhat salty smell, that made him smell rather alluring. Too pull it all off, those old and pathetic outfits he wore were discarded, and in return were a lovely pair of black pants that fit him perfectly, and a dark purple button up shirt, with another black ribbon around the shirt collar.

Hiei stared as his heart skipped a beat for the first time in his life. However, after the shock came anger. Forcing him self to look away, he silently cursed himself for showing such weakness. He turned back to the redhead to glare at the boy.

'_Okay fine! I will admit that he does look nice, but that is all.'_Hiei thought to himself. He turned to Yusuke, who was looking at him with a wide grin plastered on his face. If Hiei was not sitting down at the dinner table, he would have punched the detective until he could never smile again.

Kurama looked confused at the three people at the table. When he first walked in, everyone seemed shocked, as if he did something to insult them. However, now Lord Mukuro seemed to be eying, and smirking at the same time, while Hiei glared at him. Yusuke however, seemed to be holding in laughter.

'_Maybe this isn't a formal outfit like Youko and I first thought. However it looked nicer then the rest of the outfits that were in the closet, so we thought it'd be formal enough. I guess we were wrong.'_

Seeing that the boy had become confused, Mukuro stood up and the other two princes mimicked her.

"Welcome honored guest, I hope you don't mind but the seating has been changed a little, so that you sit across from Hiei instead of beside him. I trust that is alright with you?" Though it was a question, Kurama knew he'd never be aloud to argue, so he just smiled and nodded, not really minding the seat change. So long that he was close to Hiei it was okay… That is, if the fire demon wasn't glaring death at him. Kurama couldn't help but think he really did choose the wrong outfit.

Mukuro saw his predicament, but decided to watch how he would act in this situation rather then help him. _'Besides, this is a good way to entertain myself while studying his character.'_ She thought.

Kurama stared at Hiei for a while, before narrowing his brows and sighing, only to grab a pen and a small note pad he had found in his room. He then held it up to Hiei, who stopped glaring to read. Yusuke also looked over and started laughing.

As much as I love your eyes focused on me, I must ask that you don't stare so intently. I'm not that beautiful after all.

Hiei looked away almost immediately and Yusuke laughed loudly while Kurama smiled innocently and Mukuro smirked.

'_That was good, I have hardly seen any one bold enough as to pick on Hiei, __**and**__ get away with it. That innocent expression on his face helps, it's almost like he doesn't quite know what he said.'_

She had no idea how accurate she was in thinking that, and that Kurama had just heard Jin say it to Chu one time in a similar situation, and wanted to try it out. '_I wonder why saying that makes people embarrassed? Staring can't be that bad can it?'_ He thought, innocently.

"Baka…" was all Hiei muttered, looking like a pouting child. The expression made Kurama smile.

'_He really is cute, despite his tough guy attitude. But I guess that's how he is, and I like him that way.'_Kurama thought.

'_You really are love struck, aren't you Shu-chan?'_Youko interrupted. Kurama closed his eyes in annoyance and patted his pocket where Youko Kurama was hiding. They knew that carrying the crab in the open would look rather strange, so it would be best if Youko stayed hidden. While Youko wanted to sit in the boy's pants pocket, Kurama whole heartedly declined and placed him in his chest pocket instead.

'_Stupid pervert,' Kurama _thought. He didn't care if the old fox heard him or not_._Looking up, Kurama saw that Hiei was still looking away and he jotted down a quick note. He held it out to the fire demon who glared at it, when his eyes glanced suspiciously at him for a moment Kurama held another note up:

Would you rather I get Yusuke to read it out loud?

In an instant Hiei snatched the note from the redhead, and then he read it inside his head.

I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. It was meant to be only a joke, please do not take it too seriously.

The fire demon suspiciously looked up again and saw Kurama smiling back at him, with his head tilted to the side. Hiei merely grunted and looked away, refusing to look at the beauty in front of him. _'…Fine, I give in… he's…he's-' _Hiei stopped, not able to even think it.

'_Gorgeous! Beautiful? Aphrodite's heir or rival? The greatest thing you've ever seen? Think of one of them at least, you're pathetic immature, virgin mind is kind of ruining the mood!' _Hiei's eye twitched as he heard the voice in his head again.

'_Once I find out where that voice is coming from, I will destroy it.' _Hiei thought darkly.

'_Yes, I'm sure kit, but I don't care to be honest. Still, why can you not admit anything to yourself?'_

Hiei kept his eyes closed and held no expression as he answered. _'Attractions through looks means nothing, it's only lust. That I can deny myself due to the fact that it's pointless to go after him, and I can do other things in that time.'_

'…_Lust hmm? An interesting yet somewhat honoring view; however I'll give you my 2 cents of advice now: get to know him and you'll start feeling even more attracted. He has a contagious charm that draws people in. Try running away, if you can.'_

With that, Youko's withdrew from Hiei's mind and smirked, content with the information he had gathered. _'He knows he can't hide anything while I am in his head so he answers me without to much fight. Smart little demon.'_ He thought.

Meanwhile, Mukuro thought it was a good idea to ask some questions to the new person who was nodding or shaking his head to Yusuke depending on the questions.

"So do you like sea food? Almost all the island eats it, since we live in the middle of nowhere." Yusuke said and Kurama nodded his head with a smile.

'_I live in the ocean, how can I not like sea food?' _He thought to himself as he forced a smile. It was then that he heard Mukuro clear her throat and he turned to her.

"Excuse me, but I must ask you something quite important; who exactly are you, and what is your name?" She said and Kurama's eyes widened in surprise. "I ask this because I have already ordered a search on you, and nothing has been found. One of my assistants has done everything to look for you, but I can find no actual background; at least, nothing from my territory. Could you explain yourself?" Mukuro asked her one eye narrowing. She observed everything, from his surprised look, to the small drop of sweat slide down his face, to him lowering his head while looking to the side. She also noticed his hand make its way to his left arm and slightly rub there before he got the pen from his pocket. He wrote something on one of the many pieces of paper he brought with him.

My name is Shuichi Minamino, and I am a foreigner from a distant country.

Mukuro raised a brow at the answer. "Is the country part of my territory?" Kurama shook his head calmly as he put the note down.

"A different country hmm," Yusuke said thinking out loud. "Sweet, I bet you can speak lots of different languages huh?" Yusuke smiled until he felt an ankle connect with his shin and he twitched in pain and slowly turned to glare at Hiei who was drinking some water innocently (ya right).

"You little-"

"Just shut up Yusuke." Hiei said, already knowing what Yusuke was trying to get at. He was trying to see if Shuichi had any links to Kurama, starting with the language hint from one of his clues.

Kurama merely smiled, but inside he was frustrated. _'Yes I know hundreds of languages, all based around fish!'_ He thought sarcastically. '_But the 2 main ones that you and I could possibly communicate with each other though, are the ones __**you**__are speaking and the language of sig-…n…'_Kurama's eyes started to widen as he realized what he had just thought, and little hints that Karasu had given him.

'_:__**Just use that pretty face of yours, and never underestimate body language:**__'_

'…_He was right, during my turmoil I forgot the use of the language which does not require speech, but rather the use of hands and symbols.'_With this thought he recalled the language and looked at his hand silently. He started using the sign for 'A' and continued up the alphabet, while at the same time, recalling all the words he already knew. Smiling he looked up at Yusuke, and smiled. Quickly he wrote another note down, and gave it Mukuro, who looked at him strangely before taking the note and reading it.

Lord Mukuro, is there anyone here that knows sign language? I use to study it as a hobby and as a result, I know about 400 words, which should be more then enough for a decent conversation. 

Smiling Mukuro addressed the redhead. "Sign language, hmm? As far as I know, there should be about four people in this castle that should understand you then." Kurama brightened up and Hiei and Yusuke stopped their glaring session with each other to look at the queen and redhead who were 'talking' (of course only one of them was speaking).

"Hey, what's up guys?" Yusuke asked and Mukuro felt like kicking him for using such informal speech.

'_How can he ever gain the respect a lord needs if he keeps acting so stupid and calm. His years being just a commoner must be the reason for it.' _She then glanced at Hiei. _'Hiei is also slipping in mannerism tonight, I'll have to assign a lecture for them both soon.'_ With that resolved she answered the prince.

"The boy is asking about sign language, and who knows it, and I thought it was a good idea to tell him who also knows it. Hiei, would you do the honors?"

"Hn! All Makai heirs are supposed to learn it, but most of the actual lords do not. This is because it is a rather recent law, and the lords feel that they do not need to learn it if their heirs do. Therefore, all heirs will understand you, besides Urameshi because he's an idiot and can't focus on his studies for more the 5 seconds. I understand some, but am no where near fluent. The other people in this castle, who might know, are Kaito, who's in charge of the servants and cooks in this castle, Suzuki, a scientist and Mukuro's assistant, Urashima, who sends her reports on many different aspects in the castle." Hiei said in a bored tone which avoided all emotion (like always).

Kurama nodded flexed his hands before looking at Hiei and starting his new communication.

"**I see Hiei that means you are the only one who can understand me right now." **

He only got a grunt in return, sighing; Kurama's shoulders slumped as he looked down in disappointment. Hiei watched the man in front of him and brought up his hands in front of him and started moving them into different symbols. When Kurama heard the rustling of clothing, he looked up to see Hiei making hand symbols.

"**Of course I can idiot."**He watched Kurama smile in front of him, before Hiei shrugged and they both looked away. Kurama was happy about the newly found communication, because now he could talk to Hiei without much difficulty.

Mukuro watched the exchange before clearing her throat and gaining the redhead's attention again. "Sorry to interrupt boys, but I think we should discuss a few more important details before our fabulous dinner arrives. First of all… I don't believe we have a name to call you, what is it?" Mukuro asked, suddenly getting distracted. Kurama however tensed at the statement, and mouthed the words: 'My name?'

"Yup, you heard her." Yusuke said, gaining looks from the others present. "What? So I can read lips, big deal, Granny taught me how." He said, referring to Genkai. "Is it that surprising that I can use my brain to understand that?" He asked sarcastically.

"Actually, it is. I didn't know you could use your brain outside of fighting; learning something like that must have been difficult for someone with your brain capacity." Surprisingly, it was Mukuro who said that, and Yusuke was close to having an anime fall. "But we are going off topic, so young boy; please tell us your name." Her eyes returned to Kurama who looked down and slowly got a pen and pencil out.

'_What am I going to do now? I can't possibly give them my real name…" _He thought quickly, thinking of a possible solution. _'What would mom do right now… Wait, mom! I got it!'_Quickly, the young prince wrote down two words before Mukuro took it away from him.

"…I see; it's nice to meet you, Shuichi Minamino." She said with a smile and Kurama nodded back. He had got the idea of using his mother's last name and his middle after thinking of his mom and what queen Luka had called him sometimes. He was tempted to thank the bitch for once.

'_On second thought, I won't. One good deed is not enough to make up for the things she has done.'_

"Oi Shuichi, you okay man?" Yusuke asked, noticing the distant look in the redhead's eyes for a moment. The redhead snapped out of his thoughts quickly and turned to Yusuke and nodded. Though he wasn't fully convinced, he did let the behavior slide. "Good then pay attention, Mukuro- I mean queen Mukuro is about to offer you a job."

Mukuro watched as the redhead turned back to her, somewhat embarrassed. Smiling as she finally got to the thing she really wanted to discuss. "Now that we have your attention, Minamino-san, I want to know what schools you have gone too." Kurama turned to Hiei and started using his hand language, but Hiei looked at the symbols confused, and he didn't understand them. Kurama looked disappointed as he got out his pen and notepad again.

'_I guess he really doesn't know as much as I had hoped.'_Mukuro and Kurama thought at once. When Kurama handed her the note, she read it to herself, when a look of confusion hit her. _'Home schooled and privet tutors? That hardly ever happens unless someone is rather wealthy or is too sick to go to school. However, he tells me that he started being home schooled when he was five, and now he's 17, and studied politics, math and science, yet he's bad at literature and language arts. He says he's good at music though, use to sing before he lost his voice, but he does know how to play…the organ? Says that a guy called Davey Jones taught him a bit …very funny! However reviewing this information…'_ She glanced at the waiting redhead for a second, who was rubbing his arm nervously again, '_I don't believe he could possibly be a normal person of the average class.'_

"I see; what interesting information Minamino-san. Thank you for all the extra information, but since you're still young by both demon and human standards, there are a limited number of jobs I can give you. However, I was wondering if you would like to be royal dishwasher for my palace."

Hiei who was taking a drink at the time, choked on his water and coughed while Yusuke fell off his chair. "What?" They both asked at once, a look of disbelief on both of their faces.

"It's a simple enough job to understand; you are asked to wash a certain amount of dishes with no time limit, 3 times a day. One at 8 am, the second at 1pm and the last after dinner, this is usually at 7 pm. Sometimes during parties and such, we will ask you to do the dishes either earlier or a bit later, but you will warn you in advance. While you work on the dishes, no one will come in and add extra to your pile, but put them in a separate room. There are three in all. If you do by some chance finish early, you have free time during the day, unless your manager, that'll be Kaito by the way, gives you something else to do. Of course this hardly ever happens unless your being punished for a justified reason, or if there's an event like a ball or some form of party in which case extra help is always wanted."

"So what do you think Mr. Minamino? Does this job catch you interest? If you take this job, we will allow you to live in the castle, and we will supply you with a good pay check, and three good meals a day. However, you can not eat with us anymore; do to the fact that you will be an employee and not a guest like you are now. Are you okay with that?" Mukuro asked with a smile on her face.

"Don't do it Shuichi, it's a trap!" Yusuke called out and Mukuro sent a small blast of chi at the prince who fell off his chair and Hiei just remained silent with his eyes wide open.

'_It's true though, the dish washer's job is one of the most difficult jobs in the whole castle. It's one of the top three in fact, so we don't get many people to apply for it. Usually we just get a bunch of the workers in groups and force them to wash the dishes together to help save time, even though it takes away from their own work and slows us down quite a bit. Every time we get a dish washer though, it takes those people over 6 hours just to do one of the rooms, and they don't often last more then 2 or three days. The record time is currently 4 hours to finish one of the rooms, and that person lasted 3 days I think, before we lost him.'_Hiei looked over at the redhead.

'_Mukuro is probably doing this just so we can get all our maids and butlers to work on our upcoming ball tomorrow, instead of slow things down with the dishes. A good plan since he looks like he'll last long enough to get through that.'_However Hiei was surprised when he turned to him again, and used sign language again, but this time he understood.

"**What are you hiding Hiei? There is obviously something you must of left out, this sounds like a far to easy job. Besides, if this was all job included, then you would have had many applicants here for that job. Is there a catch?"**

Hiei blinked a couple times at Shuichi's perspective, before merely grunting and looking away. Kurama however smirked and asked something else.

'**I don't have much choice in the matter do I?'**Kurama stated more then asked, making Hiei narrow his eyes at the teen.

'_If he goes, he loses his place to stay… So that's Mukuro's plan. Good idea, even if it is low, it's not like we're forcing him. If he leaves, I'm sure he could find another job.'_

Kurama turned to Mukuro and smiled, while showing a note so all could see.

"If you work and live here will you be aloud to explore or talk to us?" Yusuke asked, reading the note out loud. "Well… I don't have a problem with that, what about you Mukuro?" Yusuke asked and Mukuro shrugged.

"So long as you don't embarrass or disturb us while we're working, I don't mind. But I am always busy, so if you have to talk to me, make sure it's important."

Hiei just grunted and looked away. '_It's not like he'll have the time.'_

Kurama smiled as he looked at Mukuro and nodded his head in acceptance. Mukuro smirked, with an evil gleam in her eye. Happy that she had finally recruited a dishwasher even though it would probably be temporary.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hiei and Yusuke sulked as the redhead walked behind them. After the deal was made, the four ate a meal which consisted of sashimi, Teriyaki with extra beef and chick, and a bunch of stir-fry with lots of vegetables, which were a bunch of Mukuro's favorite Japanese dishes. Hiei glared at his sashimi, and ate mostly teriyaki, while Yusuke went all out on everything. Mukuro took her time eating, so she, unlike Yusuke, could actually enjoy the taste of her food. Hiei and Yusuke watched Kurama when he didn't eat, but instead looked at the food and utensils up in a confused matter. When Yusuke explained briefly what was in it, Kurama tentatively bit into his food, and then started to eat normally. Hiei also noticed that Shuichi had copied the way he held the chopsticks, utensils and pretty much every way he ate.

This annoyed Hiei to no end, but amused Mukuro greatly. However, she also noticed that he seemed to be a bit awkward when he took a drink of the juice, almost as if he didn't quite understand it. She had also noticed how he sat up strait through it all, and seemed to have perfect manners throughout dinner, even for noble standards. It Intrigued Mukuro to no end, and made her want to know more about the red headed boy who had washed up upon her shores.

After Dinner, Mukuro ordered Hiei and Yusuke to take Kurama to the dish washer's room. They wanted to protest and tell her to just send another servant, however she silenced them with a flare of her energy and a menacing glare; both knew not to disobey her after that.

Now they were walking along the corridors while Kurama dawdled behind, looking at everything and sometimes stopping completely just to admire something (paintings, pictures, statues, wallpaper, trashcans; basically everything.). Many minutes went by before Yusuke started getting really annoyed and he turned to the redhead who was now looking at a statue of Mozart's head, and reading the description under it.

"Okay Shuichi, enough with the stopping. The sooner we get to your damned station, the sooner we can-"

BOOM!

All three of the princes jumped back when the door on the left of them exploded and covered them all in smoke. Hiei glared as a figure started coming out, completely covered in soot, dirt and what looked like oil. He had long blond hair that just stood up strait, but split up at the top, somewhat like a celery stick, and he wore a white tunic of some kind that had stains all over it. As he stepped out of the smoke, Kurama had to admit he was quite handsome with a smooth face and green eyes.

Yusuke relaxed when the person stepped out of the smoke and started to cough. "Oh, Suzuki, it's only you. What the hell are you doing now?" Yusuke asked rudely as he crossed his arms over his chest. The man, Suzuki just glared at him for a moment.

"For your information Urameshi-sama, I was working on modifications for a new weapon I've been working on. In fact, it was you and Hiei who provided the dammed information which has been leading to my constant work and lack of sleep. You should be more respectful to me, the beautiful Suzuki!" He declared while putting his hand on his chest and striking a pose.

"If you have enough energy to do that then you can't be that tired." Yusuke said referring to the crazy pose. Suzuki glared at the prince before a flash of red caught his attention. Looking behind Yusuke, Suzuki smiled when he saw the redhead standing there, with a thoughtful look on his face.

"My, my, what pretty thing is this?" Suzuki said as he walked over to the red head and took his hands in his. "May I ask your name, tempting vixen" he asked with a wink. Kurama glared and pulled his hands away and stepped back and would have yelled at him if he had his voice.

Hiei also glared at the scientist. His main job was creating weapons and potions for Mukuro, but he also did many things on the side, like fixing electrical devices or updating equipment. His newest assignment was to try and duplicate a model similar to the one that 'poison peach boy' used. However, all his intelligence did not stop him from being a total flirt.

Hiei watched Shuichi's response to the scientist's flirting and felt his chest relax; which was surprising because he didn't even realize that it had tightened in the first place.

Shuichi glared at the scientist before side stepping around the man and walking away from him, with poise and that any noble would have trouble holding. Seeing this, Suzuki's eyes widened as the boy used sign language to address Hiei.

**My Lord, please lead me towards my work station.**

Suzuki quickly grabbed onto the boy's arm and turned him around to look into his eyes in shock before smiling. "I see now, you are the rumored person who washed upon our shores. How interesting, my deepest apologies for stalling you sir, but might I make it up to you?" Smiling at the surprise in the other green eyes, the scientist smiled. "Just wait here for a moment, I'll be right back young sirs."

Quickly he rushed back into his room were the three heard a bunch of crashing sounds and the sound of things being thrown. He then exited while holding a bunch of stuff in a box.

"Here, young sir, a welcome gift." He said as he shoved the stuff into the red head's arms that was forced to catch it. "I hope you enjoy it. After all, I was wondering what I should do with all that junk for a while now, you have really helped me out." The man said with a smile and Shuichi somewhat glared at him before putting the box down on the ground.

**You call yourself the beautiful Sasuka, am I correct?**Shuichi asked with a smile. **Tell me; are you as beautiful as your ego? Because that seems to be** **the only thing about you that I can see, it even over shadows your looks.**

Suzuki's jaw dropped and he paled as he almost turned to stone. Kurama just kept smiling as he picked up his new stuff, and walked around him, once again, and walked up with Yusuke and Hiei. Turning to Yusuke he mouthed the words: 'Shall we go' and walked off calmly.

Hiei smirked as he watched the exchange between his scientist and Shuichi, and he almost laughed when he saw the red heads success in their battle of wits. '_Hn, I've never seen a loudmouth silenced by a mute.'_Hiei thought. However he had to admit that he was impressed, the red head was just full of interesting surprises.

Yusuke however stayed forever clueless to what just happened because of his lack of knowledge on sign language. Quickly, he promised himself then and there that he would learn the language so he wouldn't miss such a priceless scene again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hiei and Yusuke led the sea prince towards his new chamber; the dish washers room. Shuichi saw the doors and had to look up to see the top of the door. Suddenly, he felt that Yusuke was right. _'I've been hooked again.'_

That was an understatement, when he actually opened the doors. The redhead's eyes widened at first, and then started to bulge as his jaw dropped. For inside the devils room, was the worse fear any employee could ever have.

It was towers upon towers of bowls plates alike, and Shuichi even had to cram his neck as he looked up at the piles. There were so many, that the piles were as large as a 2 storey house, and there were enough piles to fill the length of one as well. A large pile of pots and pans were placed on the side, making its own mini pile beside the plates. As for cups and glasses, they were lined up beside the plates, as they made their own garden around the house of plates. The utensils were everywhere, and it seemed impossible to have that many dishes. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to Yusuke who was giving him a look of pity.

"I'm sorry about this Shuichi; I hope that we see you again some day." He said, his voice filled with regret as he turned around and walked out the doors. Hiei looked at him for a second, and Shuichi could not understand the emotion that was in the fiery red eyes before the owner of them turned and left the room.

Shuichi looked up at the pile again and he paled some more, what could he do about this. How could he do such a difficult task?

'_Shuichi…'_

There were more dishes in one room then he had ever seen in his life, he didn't even know that such an amount existed.

'_Shuichi~"_

There was no way that any being could perform this job, oh why hadn't he listened to Yusuke?

'_SHUICHI!'_Kurama was snapped out of his thoughts by the yell inside his mind and he toppled over in surprise and grabbed the counter to avoid hitting the ground. Snatching the ledge, the felt his body stop falling, and he used the ledge to pull him up from the ground. He then hurriedly reached into his chest pocket, and took out the white crab which was concealed in there.

Once he was out, the fox started breathing heavily, enjoy his first breaths of fresh air in over an hour. He then turned to look at the prince with a small glare on his face, which was hidden under the shell; Youko looked up at the prince.

"Shuichi, what had distracted you so much that you couldn't even here me? I swear; next time I'm going to give you a head ache if you keep me away from my air again." Youko said, making a sweat drop appear behind the younger being's head.

'_Sorry Youko, I was distracted by…my new…job.'_Though Shuichi hadn't progressed enough with speaking through minds with emotion, his facial expression spoke volumes as he pointed to the pile of dishes behind the crab. Turning around, Youko seemed to pale even more, if possible, and fell on his back, becoming completely motionless. Not really shocked by Youko's reaction, Kurama walked over to one of the sinks, and filled it with cold water, and dipped the unconscious crab in gently. He only had to wait a few moments before the water glowed lightly and soon there was a silver merman in from of him, sitting on the counter.

"You've got to be kidding me; this will take hours to do by hand." Youko complained loudly. "Also…why did you have to use 'Shuichi' as your new identity, which is my name for you?"

Kurama looked up at the Merman in shock when he said that, and he was surprised to see hurt in the golden yellow he knew so well. Looking down sadly, he turned away for a moment before returning his gaze to the merman. _'__It was the only thing I could think of. I have only told Hiei my first name, so he would have known it was me if I told him my full name. However, this way I'm not lying completely, but my identity is still a secret.'_ He saw Youko pout still and he rolled his eyes. '_Youko, There was no other way I could have done this. I couldn't say my real name without Hiei either kicking me out, asking questions or, possibly think that I'd lie about my name and kill me. There is no other option at the moment, and 'Shuichi' was the only thing I could think of.'_

Youko sighed in defeat and nodded his head. "Alright Shuichi, I agree you're right. However, now we have to deal with a new and difficult challenge." He said while pointing towards the dishes- "Your first job."

Kurama looked at the dishes and back to the sinks. Sighing loudly, clenching his fists at his side tightly, he looked back up at the piles of dishes. _'Well, standing here staring at it won't do any good, so we might as well get started.'_Kurama said as he started to fill the sinks with water. He then picked up a yellow sponge and a bottle of soap and just started at them for a moment before turning back to Youko. _"How exactly do you clean dishes?"_ He asked, making the old merman fall off the sink as his fin twitched in the air for a moment.

'_This is going to take a while.'_ Were the Youko's last thoughts before he started to explain the basic function of cleaning dishes to the clueless prince!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Deep down, far beneath the waves and in the castle of Atlora, The other 6 sea prince's had been assembled into one room by their father, and were waiting patiently, while wondering about why they were summoned.

"Kura-kun isn' 'ere yet." Jin said silently as he glanced around the room.

"He's probably still outside somewhere, don't worry about it Jin, I'm sure he'll be here soon." Touya said calmly, while placing a hand on his older brother's shoulder.

Jin nodded but wasn't totally convinced. It was then that the door opened and Yomi swam in, with Luka following behind him. Calmly, with the air of royalty surrounding him, he swam behind his desk and sat down. Luka did the same but sat a bit more behind him. They didn't even use their hands to push their chairs under them for they used water power to do it. Opening his eyes for the first time since entering the room, Yomi addressed the 6. "My sons, today a grave thing has happened to the family… Kurama has finally crossed the line, and has committed a crime against our oldest laws and traditions. For that I took action, and have judged him for his crimes. I will now ask you to remain quiet as I tell you the details." The 6 princes in the room grew deadly silent, all in shock at the news. Jin's eyes widened, but he closed them as he listened to the tale, Touya needed to sit down, unable to comprehend what his brother could have done. Sazuka and Risho cast their eyes to the ground slightly trembling, as Shura stopped swimming altogether and Luka used her power to keep her youngest up. Even Shishiwakumaru looked aghast at what happened, and even concerned for his brother. Not even he could make a slide comment at that moment.

Yomi kept his posture as he told the whole story, how he had figured something was up with Kurama so he asked his friend, Kuwabara, how he had probed through the carps mind when he heard mentioning of land walkers and then followed the prince there, about silencing Youko and lecturing the youngest son, when he got to the part of Kurama's love confession, Shishiwakumaru paled as Shura actually fainted and the other gasped, except for Jin who stayed deathly quiet. He then told them about the punishment he inflicted, but left out the part when the boy cried and went straight to the part of him leaving.

There was silence for a while as the Princes either stood or sat in shock, a pin could have fallen on the floor, and even though if would have slowed down a lot from all the water and light tide, it would have made a loud echo throughout the room.

Luka hid her smirk behind her hand, her plan had gone perfectly. There was no way any of **her**sons would ever side with the red head bastard child. Her revenge was almost complete. Those thoughts were instantly stopped when she heard a booming laugh from her oldest, Jin.

Yomi was about to discuss other punishments when his son's laugh cut him off. Jin stopped and calmly swam around the room, looking at old nick-knacks and souvenirs around them. He even pulled out a book and flipped through a few pages before he started talking again.

"Ah was jus' thinkin'. You an' this room 'av been together for a long time, 'avn't you?" He asked his father, as he put the book back. "Do you not think that it's grown on you? Become sacred even; your own lil' ge' away where you can relax, work, and even think 'n peace. It must be a nice 'an comfy room, right?" Jin smiled as swam to Yomi's desk.

"Jin, what are you getting at?" Yomi asked, completely confused about his eldest's behavior. Jin suddenly smirked and a bit of fang showed on the side of his mouth.

"I was just think'n, how will this affect you?" That was all the warning anyone got before Jin used his water power to blast a hole through the desk. Yomi and his wife moved quickly out of the way. Yomi reached for the trident, but was stoped when he saw his son summoning huge power into his arm, and spinning them around to make a growing, dangerous sphere in his hands. Closing his eyes for a moment, he summoned all his power so that his eyes glowed blue once they opened, and suddenly air was created in the bubble of energy. With one last yell, the bubble exploded, sending blasts of air in almost every direction, and destroying everything in the room. As the sand around the room cleared, Luka was bent over and panting, ass she was barely able to react in time to protect herself and her sons. The other 6 looked at Jin in shock before Shura passed out again, and Yomi just swam in place, his back perfectly straight as his tail barely moved.

Jin then looked at Yomi with a look of disgust on his face. "'Ow does it feel? Now why don't you pr'tend that it can't come back! Just like Kura-chan's favorite place, and any respect for you that he might have had… naw, no' respect, love." That was all Jin said before he calmly swam out of the room, his head down casted. He turned back for a moment to whisper to himself: "from you…"

Inside the room, Yomi lowered his eyes as he looked around the room, his eyes landed on a photo frame on the ground. Picking it up, he looked at the picture of Shiori, holding their new born child in his arms, before he looked around the rest of the room. '_What have I done? My god; Jin is right!'_

He closed his eyes and collected himself, hiding his sorrow. When he felt he could talk, he turned to the rest of his sons, ignoring his mate. "Touya, Shishiwakumaru, get the guards to form a search party. Suzaku, Risho; get information from Kurama's friends, or acquaintances, see if they have any leads were he could be. The rest of you, spread the news, tell the merpeople, fish and mammals of the ocean that a royal heir is missing, and to keep a look out for him. If anyone sees him, make sure they tell." When the son's looked they would ask questions, Yomi just glared and grunted out "now!"

Luka looked confused at the orders and many times she tried to object, but Yomi Never left her room. When the princes left the room in a hurry, (Shura was dragged out by Risho) she was finally able to speak. "Yomi, what about his punishment, your room, y-what are you thinking!" She yelled frustrated, but was silenced by another glare.

"I'm thinking," Yomi started off, his tone frustrated. "That one of **my** sons are missing, and need to be found." He then shrugged off her shoulder that was on his arm, and left the room, trident in hand.

Luka stood there agape, unable to comprehend what just happened. When she understood, she turned and glared at the door, growling in anger, her pupils even enlarged a bit as her claws grew out. "Just wait Yomi, I will get rid of that, and get my vengeance on the woman who stole you from me."

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I hope u enjoyed the story. My editor did most of it before she left for vacation, and I did the rest. Tell us if we've been doing good. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!v(^^)v


	18. Chapter 15

**The Sea Prince**

**Chapter 15**

Hello again (dodges a shoe) ACK! ok I deserved that! sorry for the...once again wait. I'm sorry about that, but next chapter I'll make it up to you by showing...kukuku, behind the scenes ^^. I hope you'll enjoy it (gets camera ready) I'm sure you'll have fun ^^

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Kurama and Youko slumped on different chairs as they both stopped to try and catch their breath. They had been cleaning for an hour now, but had only gotten through **half **of the utensils. This was not because they were not any good, in fact Kurama had gotten the hang of washing dishes rather quickly, and Youko was already excellent at cleaning things (He has to keep his stolen treasures shiny after all!) it was just that there were **so** many dishes.

They both panted for a while, exhausted from their hard work. "This is impossible! How can 1 palace have so many dishes? I think we were better off just ditching the place and finding another job." Youko said in agitation. Kurama could understand his mood, for he was getting frustrated with the dishes as well.

'_The work is annoying- no, down right frustrating. However if we didn't do this we… I would be in even worse shape, especially if I couldn't meet Hiei. He is the only thing that can save me after all.' _Kurama thought as he got up and headed for the sinks. He took a deep breath of air before he plunged his hands into the water and started to wash the utensils again. He flinched at the temperature of the water, but kept his steady speed.

'_He's not used to the water at all." _Youko thought, observing the prince_. 'This is expected. He has lived under the ocean for 17 years, and is more then used to temperatures below 0 degrees. He hasn't even been to the tropics! His new human skin is helping relieve some of the pain, but it will be a while before he can get use to it.'_

Kurama tried to scrub most of the dishes away from the hot water; however, he still flinched when he had to place his hands back in the soapy water. Every time his hands resurfaced, they became a darker red then before, and Kurama knew why. He flinched when he tried to grab a knife, but grabbed the blade instead of the handle and cut his hand. He brought it out of the water and clenched it tightly. _'Damn it! There must be an easier way to do this. If only…'_ He was so deep in thought, that he didn't notice the blood in the water begin to glow. _'If only…I could use my water power!'_

So deep in his own thoughts, Kurama didn't notice Youko head over to him out of concern. However, Youko did notice the happenings in the water, especially when it started to glow a light blue color, and the blood seemed to be absorbed. Then, the water started to bubble, as if a water jet was in the sink. Looking at Shuichi in shock, Youko did the only thing that came to mind, and grabbed Shuichi's arm. This seemed to snap the prince out of his thoughts, and open his eyes which were glowing light blue. Shuichi look shocked as he saw the water stop bubbling and the blue quickly left, leaving just purely clean water, even though there were still utensils at the bottom.

At first, Youko stared at Shuichi in shock while Shuichi stared at the water in the same way. However it was replaced by a smirk as the fox pulled on the boy's arm, forcing the prince to look at him.

"Call out to it again Shuichi. Call to the water which **wants** to hear you."

Kurama looked at Youko in shock before looking at the water, the words of the man beside him echoed in his head. 'It _wants…to hear me?'_ Kurama thought. Slowly, he dipped his hands into the sink again, and found it cool to the touch (but very cold to actual humans). Slowly and somewhat nervously, he started pouring his unique energy into the water, and called out; **'I am Kurama of th seven sea princes, please answer my call.'**

The response was almost automatic as the water glowed blue around his hands, and spread throughout the sink. Youko turned the tap on the sink. This made it so Kurama's power could travel from the sink into the pipes, and eventually the power would spread even without Shuichi channeling his energy. All the water that connected to the taps would be under his control. It was the introductory stage in water power which Shuichi did when he was a child, and now had to do again. It allowed the user to connect to the water easier, and make the water bend to his control, and for his powers and him to have a 'relationship'. Without one, the water would be more resistant, sloppy, and require more energy to make it harder to use. This also put less stress on the controller's body and mind, since it made sure the water would not turn on the user. To put it simply, it's a very important 1st step, and one Kurama had to take again to familiarize himself with the water and its source.

Kurama opened his eyes and looked into the glowing blue water. He smiled when he saw that the water had accepted him by absorbing the ki, and was spreading throughout the pipes. Feeling a bit fatigue, he went back to his chair and sat down, with Youko smirking as he dragged himself to Shuichi, leaving a small seal on the tap. It was to make sure that no one outside the pipes could sense Shuichi's unique energy. _'The last thing we need is for people to know of his power.'_ He thought as he went in front of Shuichi and sat down in the chair in front of him.

"So~ Shu-chan," The fox said in a sly voice. "Things should get easier from now on, am I right." He said with a smirk. The redhead although panting slightly, looked up with the same smirk and nodded. This job would become a piece of shell cake.

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Hiei sighed as he slumped down on his desk again. _'Its endless,' _he cursed, referring to his tax report. _'Though this is probably nothing compared to what the dish washer has to do.'_ An image of the red haired beauty flashed in his mind and Hiei quickly shook his head. _'I'm not concerned, I'm… enjoying his pain; __schadenfreude is what it is_.' He quickly tried to lie to himself, while referring to the German word which meant happiness for the misfortunes of others. He then sighed in annoyance, thinking about how pathetic it had to be when you had lie to yourself so badly.

"What's up Hiei, head in a cloud?" Hiei looked up and glared at the queen in front of him. Mukuro however just laughed and closed the door after her. "You really are over due though Hiei, are you sure you don't need any help?" She asked when she got to his desk and picked up one of his recent documents to read it over.

"Hn, I'm perfectly capable of doing this by myself Mukuro. Besides, wasn't it you who said personal experience would be the best way to learn? I refuse to act weak just because this is new." Hiei said stubbornly. However, he didn't see Mukuro grimace as she read it over once.

'_He has no talent with taxes,' _she decided quickly after finishing reading.

"You are new at this, so I don't expect you to be perfect, but I do hope you ask for help especially due to your inexperience. There's a difference between being weak and being inexperienced." Mukuro said, but Hiei just looked away while crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Hn!" Mukuro sighed at Hiei's response and turned around to hide her annoyance.

"Very well my son, continue with your mule like behavior." She said as she calmly walked away. _'Besides, it's not like I'll approve it if it sucks as it does now."_

"Oh, and before I forget, I must tell you that it appears our new dish washer has finished his load." Hiei stopped writing and dropped his pencil he was writing with immediately. "Yes that was my thoughts too." Mukuro said with a smirk.

Hiei's eyes were wide in astonishment, before he snatched a clock off his desk and stared at it intently. 3 hours! It had been three hours since the boy had started, and he had already finished all the dishes.

"This…is not possible." Hiei said completely confused. "He's a human who just washed upon our shores not too long ago, how can he have the energy to do this? Especially when the average hours for a human to finish the job is… eighteen hours. How could he do it in three?"

"Also he beat your record with Yusuke which was four and a half hours, and still has some energy to walk." Mukuro said as an after-thought, though she was smirking when Hiei glared at her (When he and Yusuke did the dishes, they passed out almost instantly and stayed asleep for the next two days). "How he did it is a mystery, and we'll figure out how he could do such a thing later on. However, I believe we should worry more about tomorrow's events for the mean time."

"…Tomorrow? I actually have to go through with it?" Hiei said in disbelief and anger. However a small glare from Mukuro shut him up.

"You- Dearest son- will be at the ball tomorrow, and **we **will be looking out for you potential mates! UNLESS of course you wish for me to just choose one now? Princess Koto would probably pounce on the chance for a taste of you, or maybe-"

"FINE I'LL GO!" Hiei yelled out in vein. He rubbed his eyes tiredly as he slumped down on the desk again. He hated big events, especially parties. The music always sucked, he had to tolerate being surrounded by humans and their stench, and lastly, people were always throwing themselves on him. Anti-social fire demon plus hundreds of people insisting to talk to him did not add up well (for him).

He was brought back to the real world when Mukuro touched his arm and smiled down at him. "Don't worry Hiei, I will make sure that they are worthy, and I will not trust someone unworthy to mate you. After all, fire demons mate forever." She then dared to stroke his white starburst in his hair before walking away. Hiei reached up to his hair and glared half heartedly at her, then sighed and looked away.

'_When I'm stronger, I will tell her what I should have said when I was little…'_ looking at the tax report again, he decided to get up and walk away for now. _'I do better after I procrastinate anyway'_ he decided as he closed the door to his office. The paper work was once again left behind for another day.

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Kurama sighed as he walked over to his room and fell on the giant doors. He just leaned on them face first as he looked for his keys for the giant elk doors. Finding the unique metal objects, he quickly fumbled with them before he got the key in correctly and opened the door. He barely made it too the bed before his legs collapsed under him and he fell partly onto the bed, his feet just hanging off the end.

His job hadn't been the easiest, that's for sure. After rediscovering his water powers, he had used it to create many mini dish washers, where Youko threw all the utensils in, Kurama cleaned them in groups. It was exhausting on the body, mind and energy, due to the fact that water energy was a thing that used all three of the aspects to be used. Youko knew the strain on Shuichi's body, and did as much as he could for the child as they did the dishes, including doing some on his own, drying and putting the dishes away. This helped the prince a lot.

However, Kurama did admit that it felt easier to move the water on land rather then inside the ocean. This was because he didn't have to separate the water he was using, from other water that surrounded him constantly. So it was much more easily controlled, and could less energy consuming at the same time. However even if it was easier, it was still exhausting due to the fact he was still recovering from all the things that had happened to him. From the deal with Karasu to the new environment, he had once again over exerted himself.

Youko crawled out of the prince's pocket and turned towards the exhausted prince. "Hey Shuichi, are you alright?" The crab asked in concern, only to hear a muffled groan in return. "I'll take that yes."

Shuichi then turned to face the crab, he was obviously tired but Youko thought it would be a good idea to take a shower before bed.

"Think Shuichi, it would really relax your muscles, and you would also be just a bit more awake for your stretches that Yukina said you should do.' Kurama did think about and grabbed the list that Yukina had showed him before hand. He kept it close to his bed so he wouldn't have to go far to get them. As he read though, the words became blurry, as he started falling asleep.

"So Shuichi, do you have a plan for Hiei-san? Your lover boy awaits you know, you can't just spend your time…sleeping." He said the last part with a sweat drop appearing behind his head as he saw the prince. The prince was sleeping on his side with one of his head on the pillows, and the pillow spooned to his chest. Youko then smiled and held his breath, transforming one last time that night.

Youko gently covered Kurama's sleeping body with a blanket, and tucked the prince in. He then gently brushed the hair out of the prince's face, and kissed his forehead. _'Sweet dreams my little prince.'_

Karasu watched the entire day through a crystal ball, and had hit his head in his stupidity. In his hand was his and Kurama's contract, which had slightly changed from what he wanted. However both sides of the deal had to be fair, and if they were not then some circumstances would change. "Unfortunately it was my half which was not fair. Curses, I knew Hiei could never want a human, so that's what I was going to turn Shuichi into. However the deal had '**love'** in it, which screwed up everything." Karasu said the word with such loathing that the two eels behind him shivered.

"So boss, does that mean you were cheating and your curse backfired on you?" The younger asked and Karasu turned and glared at the two. _'That's a yes.'_ The brothers thought in sync.

"It means that my plan is somewhat off. What I really wanted was to make Kurama a weak and defenseless human, what I got, was a fish who grew legs and lost its gills." Karasu said making the eels widen their eyes in shock. "Kurama has kept all his powers, along with his quick healing ability which human's lack, and if he can talk to Youko so clearly without talking, then he's kept his mind power as well. I am also willing to bet that he can still talk to any type of fish or whale in the ocean. Who knows what other powers he has kept in his frail body, but I do know this. A sea based power can not be fully contained in a land based form; something may change in his form or mind. Not even I know what may happen, but I do have ideas. It's more then likely that the second form is possible."

"I doubt that." Karasu turned to look at the younger Toguro which stood its ground. "The second form is rarely shown in any merman or mermaid. It's purely used in self defense, and only when the victim is at their limits, and is terrified to the beyond. Fear is the key component, and Kurama doesn't seem to be one who would spook easily."

"Funny, you are right about that Toguro-san, but that child has already transformed once, and it's easier to change once it has already happened." Both Toguro's looked shocked at the information. "It's true, it happened years ago, when the child was only 5. You should have seen it, black eyes, sharp fangs, theirs a reason why the merpeople worship sharks you know." Karasu smirked as he remembered the scene.

"Alas, he could never remember it though. He was the first child ever to succumb that form, which was seen as a bad omen. It's no wonder why people were nervous around him, even feared the young child." The younger Toguro paled while the other one smirked.

"So you were there then Karasu-kun? May I be so bold to say that you had a thing to do with it?" Karasu glared at first, but then smirked from beneath his mask.

"Who knows, but you are right Toguro. There isn't a likely chance of the second form happening again, but one can dream." He said before he chuckled darkly. _'Yes…one can dream Kurama-chan, one can always dream of your monstrous form, the most feared and disturbing truth behind the merpeople.'_

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waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! please review! for my editor is going to try and make me write a whole chapter in one week... help me.


	19. Chapter 16

**The Sea Prince**

**Chapter 16**

That's right, I'm still alive *gets hit by flying object*... I might have deserved that. Again, sorry for the wait, that was the worst time lapse yet, and after promising to do it in a weak... that was low, sorry readers. I will no longer say when I'll update because we saw what happened last time, and I don't feel like disappointing u all again. My finals are coming up, but I won't be busy when they're over BWAHAHAHA!!! Oh well, thanks Night Tsuki for helping me edit, in fact she set the due date that forced me to stop procrastinating. We have to thank her for that.

So without any more waiting, lets go, and stay tuned after reading if u wanna see something worth wild *-*kukukuku....**  
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To many, a prince's life was meant to be graceful at all times. It was taboo to make them out to be fools, and they had to be seen perfect at all times. Kurama of course had to live up to these standards as well. He had to stay clean, move in the most graceful patterns, and had to remain poised and perfect at all waking moments.

However sleeping moments were another tale, as Kurama lay in a perfect mess. Kurama was a violent and deep sleeper, and had been for as long as anyone could remember. You could tuck him in perfectly and chain him to the bed (Which Shishiwakumaru tried once as an experiment) and in the morning he could be found fallen off half of the bed, and sleeping horizontally on it. Now, even with a human body, his sleeping pattern had not changed.

Now Kurama slept peacefully…on the opposite side of the bed then he had originally fallen asleep on. One arm was tightly wrapped around a pillow, which he hugged to his chest, and the other was dangling of the side of the bed. His hair was a mess, and surrounded his head in a red blob, while hiding most of his forehead. His legs though, were most peculiar, as they were completely clamped together, as if trying to merge together again. Even when he kicked they stayed together, making it look like some kind of double kick, or a butterfly kick (in swimming, that's a type of technique, they call it the butterfly). This was probably how he moved into such a strange direction.

A timid knock was heard on the door, waking Youko who slept on the desk beside the bed. Youko looked at Shuichi and had to hold in a laugh. _'Whoever you are, you won't wake him today. The child is definitely out!'_ The knock got louder, and after a few minutes of no one responding, the person let themselves in.

Keiko walked in cautiously, but then swung the door open when she saw Kurama on the bed. "So there you are; you know your going to get me in trouble." She said as she walked over and stared at his clumsy form. "...Who are you, Yusuke? Come on and get up already." She said as she gently shook him. Kurama however just stayed asleep, breathing deeply. She shook harder, but he didn't budge and only held onto the pillow tighter.

"Come on!" She yelled out. She then tried to push him out of bed, only to see him reach out from the cold floor and grab the blanket in his sleep, covering up again. She also tried the classic 'dump cold water and hot water on the person' but he didn't seem to mind the cold water, and rolled over to dodge the other in his sleep. She almost yelled out in frustration when he slept through a blow horn. She then tried to tickle his feet and under the arm pits, but he wasn't ticklish there.

"There is absolutely nothing I can do!"

"Hey, what's up Keiko?" She made a small eep and turned around quickly, only to see Yusuke with his trade mark grin on.

"YUSUKE! How many times have I told you to not sneak up on me? Seriously, you're always doing these kinds of stunts, how can you not know why people don't respect you as royalty? And another thing-"

"ALRIGHT I GET IT ALREADY!" He yelled and took a few deep breaths. He and Keiko had known and played with each other since he was brought to the castle. So naturally they had known each other for a long time; but they often got into arguments. Keiko was often telling Yusuke to grow up so he'd gain more respect from the royal council and the rest of nobility. Yusuke on the other hand said that he was fine with out it. They didn't know that it was these petty arguments that really made Yusuke loss his royal touch (a lord getting talked down to by a servant).

"But really Keiko, what's up? Are you trying to wake up the newbie?" He asked, getting a nod from the girl.

"Yes, I've been trying my hardest to wake him up, but he refuses to budge. He's now dripping wet and I even dumped him on the floor, but he refuses to wake up. I swear he's far worse then you: at least you show some kind of life." She said exasperated.

"Hmm… Are you sure he's not in a coma or something?" He asked and Keiko shook her head.

"No, he dodged the hot water which I tried to pour on him. I wonder why he didn't try to dodge the cold water though…" They both thought of it for a second before Yusuke shrugged.

"Oh well, what ever the reason is, its not going to wake him up. Maybe some shock therapy will work." He said with a gleam in his eye.

"Don't even think of it-" But Keiko was too late as Yusuke formed his fist, and aimed it at Kurama's face. However, the reaction was most unanticipated. The fist went flying at him, Kurama rolled over to one side before he was hit, and sent up both legs, kicking Yusuke in the stomach. The young prince went four feet in the air before he landed on his back. He was quick enough to block his stomach though.

"Ow…good to see your finally-" he was cut off by Shuichi turning onto his back, and letting out a big sigh. He was still obviously- "asleep!"

"Well it serves you right! Trying to punch someone when they're asleep; what the hell is wrong with you!" Keiko said while gathering Shuichi in her arms. He didn't even flinch as he was clung to. If anything, he seemed to relax more.

Yusuke glared some more, but then an idea hit him. "I know, what about Yukina! Maybe she has something to get him up." He said, and Keiko nodded in agreement. Youko stood on the side of the desk this whole time, amused by the performance, but he knew he would have to cut it short now. Kurama was a difficult boy to wake up; however after years of being his care taker, Youko knew the one way to wake him up.

'_Hey kid, time to wake up, or you'll miss breakfast.'_ Youko sent into the kids mind, and all too soon, Shuichi's eyes started to open.

Keiko jumped a bit when she saw him begin to wake up. Yusuke also watched as Shuichi looked up, and behind to Keiko, and tried to speak. Yusuke noticed this and his eyes widened in shock before he smiled.

"Hey, good to see your awake buddy," he said cheerfully and Kurama looked at him. The sea prince then shook his head his head, and mouthed one word that Yusuke had to laugh at.

'Breakfast?'

"Yeah buddy, breakfast is ready, and you're late for work on your second day. So hurry up and get off the floor before you get yelled at again." Kurama shook his head a little to wake up more and scratched his head as he was about to get up but stopped as his legs buckled beneath him, and would have sent him into the ground if Keiko hadn't been supporting him.

"Shuichi-san are you okay?" She asked as she saw his face tense in pain and his toes curl. Yusuke looked from him to the bed, and saw a list on the ground and picked it up. He then looked from the list of exercises that Yukina and Genkai made up for the boy, to the cloths on Shuichi's body, and something clicked. "You have morning cramps!" That's when Keiko put Shuichi on the ground and hit Yusuke in the head.

"Idiot, he's not a girl you stupid-" And as she went on in her rant, Yusuke kept getting hit on the head. Youko would have been laughing if the situation wasn't so serious. However while Keiko lectured Yusuke, Shuichi cringed as his legs kept getting worse. It felt like the muscles in his legs were tightening against his will and cramped so bad that he kicked them out in pain. Keiko and Yusuke stopped fighting to hurry over to Kurama. They were clueless what to do, since he couldn't speak and while in pain, it was probably too difficult to tell them what was wrong (not to mention Yusuke sucked at sign language and Keiko knew none). He also kept hanging onto his lower legs and tried to stretch them sometimes.

Luckily though, the pain seemed to go quickly, and in less then two minutes it was gone. Shuichi just panted and took deep breaths when it was over. Youko sighed and relaxed, knowing now that it was nothing serious. Keiko and Yusuke relaxed and helped him sit on the bed and started asking him a few questions, question which he could answer with a nod or a shake of the head.

"Hey buddy, you ok now?" A nod. "Good is the pain gone?" a small shake.

"Is it just sore?" A nod. "That's good, do you know how it happened?" a shake of the head.

"Hey, how come you're still in your work cloths? And you don't smell too good either; did you pass out or something." Another nod came from the mute as Yusuke thought it over. "That means you also didn't have time for these stretches Yukina told ya to do, right." Shuichi nodded, and through Yusuke's question, Youko understood the situation perfectly.

"I see now. Kurama, do any of the exercises have to deal with the muscles in the lower legs, or maybe the hamstrings?" Keiko explained and Youko also realized the problem. Shuichi looked confused, he had been studying humans but the way their bodies worked was a mystery to him.

"Yeah Keiko, it says here that he has to do two exercises to loosen up his muscles," Yusuke answered for the redhead.

"I see now, Kurama, Yusuke had a similar problem at one point. He refused to do the stretches that Genkai told him to do, and ended up hurting himself and getting cramps all the time. It wasn't until I became his second babysitter that he started doing them." The girl explained, and Kurama nodded at the explanation while Yusuke yelled out indignity.

"You weren't my babysitter! You're not even older then I am, and don't agree with her so easily." Alas, his rant was ignored as Kurama got to his feet and Keiko smiled warmly as she reminded him to do his stretches. Kurama agreed with another nod, and bowed his head in appreciation. "And another thing-…WHY IS IT NO ONE LISTENS WHEN I SPEAKING TO THEM!" Yusuke yelled when he realized no one was listening.

"Because you're acting like a child," Keiko answered at once making Yusuke fall over anime style. Kurama secretly agreed with Keiko, but kept it to himself. "Now Kurama, you can have breakfast later, right now you should take a shower and change your cloths. I'll cover for you this one time, but don't be late again, ok?" He nodded and smiled at her. Yusuke suddenly appeared between him and Keiko, hiding her from sight. He glared a little at Kurama, making the younger man confused.

'_He's getting jealous, Shu-chan.'_ Shuichi's eyes widened from two things. One was that Youko had entered his mind, and the other was what the old fox had informed him. _'If you get to speak to him alone sometime, it would be a good idea to state that you don't have an interest in the girl.'_

Kurama was brought back too reality when he saw Yusuke waving a hand in his face. "'Hello earth to Shuichi-kun, it's time to wake up again." Yusuke said. He was confused when the red head's eyes suddenly widened and he seemed to zone out for a moment. But he was back now, so it was okay, although he didn't like the new person so close to Keiko all of a sudden.

Kurama smiled and then headed to the cabinet and grabbed a towel and smirked at them, and mouthed the words so Yusuke could understand. 'It's time for my shower, so you can go now. Unless I being in the shower is that much of an interest to you.' Yusuke blushed and pushed the oblivious Keiko out of the room.

"All right buddy, see ya then." He called back, and Kurama smiled and turned to Youko, who was shaking his head (he's still a crab though).

"Shuichi, you should really stop repeating everything that Jin says."

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Hiei was sitting at his desk, working on his paper work again… well, at least that's what he should have been doing anyway. Right now he was drooling peacefully in his sleep, his face resting comfortably on the paperwork.

Hiei had always loved to sleep in, but hardly ever got to do so. As a child, he was often awoken by other demons who wished to slay him, so he was forced to learn to awake at any type of presence. When he came to the palace his instinct calmed down a little, so not all things awoke him and he only awoke to presences filled with blood lust and darker emotions. Unfortunately, that often meant that he could not sense Yusuke when he sneaked into his room, but he learned to live with it.

However, even though he could wake up instantly, that didn't mean he'd stay up for long. He'd often fall asleep when the danger was gone; often needing one hour of just staring into nothing before he actually woke up. Since he didn't get that today, it was back to sleep.

This happened to be the time when Yusuke bounded into the office.

"Hey man, what's up… oh, you're asleep again, it figures." Hiei opened his eyes and grabbed his katana. He was never a good morning person. "WHOA HIEI, It's me Yusuke. Your old buddy!" Hiei glared as he released the katana and let it relax once more on his side.

"What do you want detective?" He said with a yawn.

"Well…just hear to tell you that…the record for our dish washer has improved."

"Good for… huh?" Hiei looked over at the clock beside him, before turning back to Yusuke. "Four hours isn't a record."

"He came in an hour and fifteen minutes late." Yusuke explained, making Hiei's eyes go wide again. "Pretty impressive isn't it Hiei? You think he might be cheating somehow?" Yusuke asked and Hiei pushed the papers away for the first time.

"I can't think of any other way, but I've stopped caring. It's pointless to think of someone else who has a different job as a rival. Besides I have more important things to do." Hiei said indifferently.

"You sure you're not just jealous that he could beat us at something?" Yusuke said and got a glare from Hiei. "Alright man, I was only kidding." The foolish prince said as he held up his hands.

"By the way, how's your costume for the ball? Mukuro said it would be a masquerade or something right?" Yusuke asked. Hiei looked at Yusuke strangely, contemplating about pounding his head against his desk.

"Hn."

"Oh come on Hiei, you can kiss and tell little oh me."

Hiei glared at the smirk on Yusuke's face, and considered throwing his sword at the idiot, but decided against it.

"I refuse to wear a mask. I'll wear the good for nothing outfit, but I refuse to cover my face with repulsing disguises and childish playthings." There was silence before Yusuke walked up to Hiei's desk and pulled out a small box from his pocket.

"Stop being a party pooper Hiei. Here," he then passed the small box to the smaller demon. "I know you're not interested in this stuff, but at least try to fit the requirements. Besides, it will look stupider if you're the only one without a mask. What's worse: joining the crowd at your own party, or being the only one who sticks out? Just think about Hiei." With that Yusuke turned and with just a wave over his shoulder, left the young man to his work.

With the other prince gone, Hiei finally turned his attention to the small box on his desk and opened it. It was nothing fancy, nothing of great taste or originality even. It was just a simple, black mask, with a small silver dragon on each side of the mask. Each dragon held a small red gem. Hiei sighed and glared at the mask, before holding it up to his face, and tying the silky fabric around his head. It was a perfect fit. (How Yusuke knew the size of his face will be forever unknown.)

Taking it off, Hiei sighed before putting it neatly back in the box. _'Fine, I'll wear it…lousy detective!'_

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Kurama slumped on his way across the beach. He was heading back to the spot where he was found. Youko, who finally had a chance to return to his true form, took it as fast as he could and swam near by in the shallow water. Kurama stumbled again and fell. He braced himself, so he landed on his hands and knees, with half his body in the water. The cold water eased his sore muscles, and due to the fact that he had lived in the ocean all his life, he felt no pain when the exposed cuts on his hands hit the salt water.

'_I really should stop grabbing the knives.' _Kurama thought tiredly. He had experimented with his water power, and found that he could make multiple blobs of water. He used this to wash many at once. He even could rotate the dishes and if Youko added soap to the water, it became foamy. However, when Kurama got weak, he either got hurt by his own power if it went out of control, or he would hurt himself while he and Youko washed them by hand. Either way, it was hard work, and Youko complained about **everything.**

'_Maybe he should have become the mute.'_ Kurama thought tiredly. He tried to get up again, but stopped when he saw a shadow in the water. He watched it slowly come closer, transfixed on the spot.

Suddenly a splash erupted from the water soaking Kurama and awakening him from his trance. As Kurama shook his head, he heard a familiar laugh.

"Ahahaha, that's what you get for spacing out; all mighty sea prince." That was followed by another round of laughter, and Kurama's eyes lit up in excitement.

'_Kuwabara-kun,'_ He thought excitedly. Sure enough, the giant carp was laughing and swimming happily around the prince. Kurama tried to pounce on the carp for fun, but Kuwabara dodged and Kurama ended up being jumped on instead. They both started laughing (although Kurama still couldn't make a sound), while Youko smiled at the happy reunion.

"So Kurama, what's the land walker's world like now? I bet you've learned a lot just by being here for one day." Kurama nodded happily, as Kuwabara continued on as if nothing was wrong. "That's awesome; these parts are pretty boring though. There's hardly any fish around, and I saw a great white earlier, luckily he didn't see me." Kuwabara said with a shudder.

"So what happened on land?" Kurama looked like he was about to answer his friend's question but stopped, his smile turning into a frown.

"He can't answer you." Youko stated. Kuwabara looked from Youko to Kurama, clearly confused. "His price for his legs was his voice. He can no longer speak."

Kurama nodded sadly, and Kuwabara looked at him in shock. "No…no way. Kurama you love to talk, to sing… mermen… they need their voices. Kurama say you're joking, that you're making it up." Kurama looked down sadly at his old friend.

'I can't tell you that, I can't speak.' Kurama mouthed, while using sign language to prove his point. Kuwabara's eyes widened in shock_, 'why did this have to happen?'_

"Kurama… how, you…"

Youko cut the carp off."Kuwabara, I already lectured him. He knows how stupid he was." He knew the carp wanted to yell at the prince, but right now, they had other things to discuss. "What we need to focus on now, is how we can keep Kurama human. Its time you heard the whole story."

So Youko told Kuwabara about everything, about the deal, why Kurama accepted, the use of his water powers. Kuwabara stayed silent through it all, only asking the occasional question that came to mind. Meanwhile Kurama had abandoned most of his cloths, and just sat neck deep in water, feeling more alert as he sat there.

"So…Kurama has only a week-"

"Six days!"

"WHATEVER! The point is we don't have much time left…and after this week, if Hiei kisses you…you can't be with us anymore." Kuwabara said sadly.

Kurama slowly nodded, feeling another wave of guilt hit him. After hearing about how Kuwabara was forced to tell Yomi, he felt horrible about not believing in him. They were best friends after all, how could he have not believed him?

"It's better than letting him lose and letting Karasu get a hold of him." Youko said solemnly.

"I KNOW THAT! It's just…" Kuwabara didn't voice his sadness, but inside it was tearing him apart. His best friend had chosen a complete stranger over him, he wasn't as important as some land walker. "…Never mind."

Youko and Kurama knew there was more, but Youko decided to discuss something more important. "Good, now that that discussion has ended, I have to tell you both something important. Kuwabara, you already know the start of this story but it's important that we tell Shuichi straight out." Kurama looked confused as Youko turned directly at him, and looked at him straight in the face. "Shuichi, I'm a demon!"

The world seemed to stop for a moment, before Kurama shook his head and tried to ask questions like 'what?' and 'How?' However since he couldn't say anything, Youko merely waited until the boy calmed down to continue his story.

"When I was a young demon, 600 years ago, I had already gained myself a title throughout Makai and Ningenkai. I was the king of thieves; there wasn't a treasure on land that I couldn't get. At only 400 years of age ("That's young?" Kuwabara asked shocked, but was once again silenced by the merman's fist.) I had gained power, skills, and knowledge that made me infamous." _('Infamous? Is that really something to brag about?'_ Kurama thought. However, he decided to stay silent, not wanting to be hit like Kuwabara.)

"However, after one of my heists, something went horribly wrong. I can't remember the exact details, but my partner and I were stealing a legendary pearl in ningenkai that was guarded pretty heavily. Somehow we got separated and most of the guards went after me. Although I eventually lost them, I was not unscathed. And after getting away from them, I had somehow ended up near the edge of a bay, and I decided to try and escape through swimming. It was then that something that I'll never forget happened."

"My escape was going successfully, when suddenly something grabbed onto my leg and dragged me down. My first reaction was to kill the creature who dared tried to stop me. However, when a hand grabbed my wrist, I looked into the face of the most amazing thing that I had ever seen. I saw a mermaid." Youko seemed to smile at that thought. "Of course my reactions were still on 'kill mode' so I still attacked her." Kurama and Kuwabara's jaw dropped at that.

"There was a little fight between us before she started to talk to me, I was barely listening since my thoughts were more on killing her and getting away with the treasure. Instead, the most annoying thing that could have happen did: someone knocked me out from behind." Kurama and Kuwabara were listening intently to the story, but both of them had a sweat drop appear on their head's when the merman said that.

"When I awoke, I was surrounded by water somewhere near the bottom of the ocean. I was also stuck in some sort of glass case or other see through material. It kept the pressure of the sea away I know, but I reacted quite violently to it. Since I can't remember much, I guess I must have panicked. Foxes don't do well in cages, it's quite terrifying for our species since we are not meant to be in confined spaces. However then the woman appeared before me again. I can't remember quite what she told me, but I had to admit that she was lovely…She was your mom after all Shuichi."

Kurama's eyes widened in shock, '_MOM! My mother was the one who brought you down? Wow, no wonder she's known as the best hunter in the oceans.'_

"Yes Shuichi, thank you for your consideration. I was taken from my worlds and forced into a tank like some kind of reverse aquarium, where the FISH watch the PEOPLE!" Youko growled but Kurama was still happy for his mom.

'_Mom's so cool…'_

"Ahem, anyway after what ever we were talking about, they brought my cage to see the sea king, whom was your grandfather at the time. Ironically he had the same name as you and I."

"Makes sense, Kurama told me that he was names after both of his grandfathers." Kuwabara said and Youko looked at the prince surprised.

"Both of them? Is this name popular under the ocean?" When both Kurama and Kuwabara shook their head's Youko scratched his, clearly annoyed. However he quickly continued with his story.

"Anyway, apparently the item I stole from the heist was extremely important to the merpeople, so they wanted to thank me for 'returning' it for them. However I was still a demon, therefore they had to think what to do with me. They knew that I wouldn't survive in the cage, yet they could not return me to the surface. They were actually discussing killing me, you're dad was the one who brought up the death topic actually… I really do hate him (_'so their grudge and hatred goes way back…' _Kurama and Kuwabara thought.). Then Shiori made another suggestion which seemed to solve all their problems."

**FLASH BACK**

Youko glared as Yomi suggested his death. He was the most feared and powerful thief in all of makai, how dare a couple of fish people do this to him. Very beautiful fish people but fish none the less. He was going to get back at them for just placing him in this god forsaken cage. His vendetta would be merciless, as soon as he escaped their captivity.

"Father, if we kill him now then this case will be done with. It's just a disgusting land walker anyway."

"You would know about disgusting, wouldn't you fish breath." Youko yelled out just as spitefully to the younger merman. The man glared at the fox, hatred fueling their minds and bodies.

"Yomi, calm yourself. This fox has returned one of our greatest treasures. Without him it would still be lost on the land above. Killing him would be both disrespectful and dishonorable for our great civilization." The Lord said wisely.

"He did not return it; Shiori got it back for us! If she hadn't done anything once she saw the beast, he would have just ran off with it." Yomi argued again, and Youko bristled at being called a beast. He was one of the most sought after in Ningenkai and Makai, how dare some smart mouth brat call him that.

"Since I was the one who caught him, then I guess I should have an opinion in the matter." Everyone stopped what they were doing when her young feminine voice drifted across the court room. Shiori had risen from her seat in the crowd and slowly approached the lords, her navy blue tail swaying calmly behind her. Already she had the grace of an orca and the silence of a shark, it was obvious to many that she would become a great hunter in time. Yomi's eyes widened when he saw her and looked away, but Youko saw the thin line of pink that went across the boy's face.

"If we don't want to kill this land walker, and we obviously can't return him, then the obvious solution is that we make him into one of us." She said calmly, and multiple gasps and muttering went across the crowd. Youko himself became furious.

"WHAT! Don't you dare try and change me into one of you, fish-girl! I am the proud Youko Kurama; if you even try to change me I will kill you later on. A fox's wrath is known threw out Makai as a horrid fate. So release me, and I'll forget you even exist." Youko said menacingly. Shiori raised her eyebrows, but Youko noticed something, she was not afraid. There was absolutely no negative emotions running threw her eyes, just pure curiosity.

Another female made a noise, but unlike Shiori's calm and relaxing voice, this one was just a female laugh. Youko found himself getting irritated just by the sound of it. Turning he saw a young woman wearing a lovely shirt, with a small tiara upon her hot pink hair.

"Minamino-san, I do believe you are being too idealistic. What is the point in saving one demon's life, which is so stupid that he can't even understand the privileges of joining such a great race like ours! There is no point in helping the stubborn. Besides he threatened out king, surely this is a punishment worthy of death." Shiori glared at the woman.

"Luka-sama, I am not idealistic. However, I do believe this situation will work, since we did the same thing three decades ago." She smirked as she looked to the door. "I have a demon here to see what his opinion of the matter is."

The merpeople gasped as the door slowly opened, and a man with pitch black hair came in. He was tall, handsome, with a lovely fin and a pale complexion.

"Karasu-san, what would your opinion be? Do you think the method we used on you would be valid, or is it _too idealistic_?" She smirked as she used the last words to mock the princess. Karasu smiled charmingly however before turning to the king.

**END FLASH BACK**

"As you can see, he vouched for me to live. I was forcibly changed into a merman, yet my ears stayed the same. Maybe it was proof of my demon heritage, or maybe because he only changed my legs and a few organs, but they stayed."

'_Can you still use youkai?' _Kurama asked and Youko nodded with a smirk. Suddenly he took a seed from his hair. "I haven't been on land in over 600 years, but I have never forgotten the texture of a plant, neither the feel of vines and leaves twirling around my flesh as it grew." Slowly, the plant did just that. Vines started wrapping around the fox's arms, and roses bloomed from the tips. Kurama couldn't help but stare in its beauty, Kuwabara also stared. Red roses wrapped around white angelic flesh, this was clearly the sign of Youko Kurama, Makai's, Ningenkai's, and the oceans greatest thief.

"Ironically, there was a curse put on me so that I'd never leave the ocean… want to know what it was?" Youko asked with a smirk. "The final curse was that I could never leave the ocean, unless I was accompanied by a sea prince."

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"Okay sweetie, spread your arms out wide. We need to make sure the measurements are perfect for tonight." A woman said with a smile. She had long dirty brown hair that went to her waste, and an attitude that would make a yakuza member proud. She was also one of the finest tailors in the palace, and a good friend of Mukuro's.

Hiei huffed as he spread his arms one more time. Mukuro smiled as she watched the woman measure her agitated son. "Careful honey, I might get jealous to have your hands on my son so much."

"Don't worry Queeny dearest, soon you'll be all mine once I'm done with this little bugger." Shizuru responded. Hiei glared at the two and tensed up. He knew that the two had become good friends over time, but why did they always have to act like this when they were around **him**. He really hated how the two always joked like that, if one wasn't careful they'd think that they weren't kidding.

Smirking, the woman put the measuring tape away and looked at her work. Hiei was wearing mostly black, and was made from a type of silk which fitted him nicely, but was a bit loose in some areas for comfort. The coat was long so it went to his heels, but it was thin, and only in the back was it long. It had long sleeves with silver thread decorating them to make two dragons. His shirt was a plain loose black shirt, but Mukuro forced him to wear a silver and red pendant. It made him look handsome indeed, especially with the mask he was supposed to wear.

"Wonderful Shizuru, you truly are the best." Mukuro said.

"That's what I'm paid for, and don't think sweet words will get you a discount."

"How about actions then; they speak louder then words after all." Mukuro said with a smirk and Shizuru was about to reply when Hiei interrupted.

"Enough of your foolishness! If all you two do is flirt, then do it away from me." He said and started marching away.

The two women laughed as soon as they heard the door slam and smirked at each other. "Isn't my son fun to tease?" Mukuro asked with a smile and Shizuru nodded.

"Yup, the little runt is fun, but its time to get to business now that he's gone." Mukuro nodded as she went to a desk and sat down. Shizuru handed her a bunch of papers for the night's events.

"All these people? It wasn't suppose to be this big at first, how did so many princesses get on the list?" Mukuro asked and Shizuru shrugged.

"Word must have got along and the girls must have wanted to come. Then they called Koenma and he must have placed a few on the list without reporting. He probably thinks it will help the kingdom."

"Agreed, he has done so before and I trust his judgment, but this means we'll need a bit more staff."

"Kaito agreed, so he asked me to make a few extra outfits, he'll probably get a few of our best servants and turn them into waiters. I have a feeling that I'll be on that list."

"Then you probably will be there, being my best psychic you're usually correct about such events. So tell me, who are the others that will be appointed?" Mukuro asked. Shizuru sighed as she got into her pocket, pulling out a cigarette. She was about to light it when a small ball of fire blew from Mukuro's hand. Shizuru leaned forward and the tip got lit. The flame went out instantly and Mukuro leaned back in her chair.

Shizuru blew out some smoke and she closed her eyes, concentrating. "My gut tells me there won't be many, just three other then me… One will be Botan, her good looks and cheerful attitude will be perfect. Next Keiko, she's so responsible, and she'll keep Yusuke in check if he starts goofing off again. That's a good bonus and the third… that's strange." She inhaled a large amount of her cigarette and blew out again. "The red head, 'Mr. newbie' is gonna be the third. How unfortunate, the clown wanted to make him his date for tonight."

"Minamino-san? That is indeed strange, allowing someone so close to so many nobles without knowing his motif yet."

"You don't trust him Queenie?" The psychic asked, raising a brow. Mukuro smirked in return, and her glass eye flashed in the light.

"No, I don't believe that a person will just appear out of nowhere. He's here for a reason, and it has something to do with my son; I'm sure of it! Also, there is defiantly something off about that kid. He didn't even know how to use a fork and knife, nor chop sticks, and yet his posture is that of a noble or lord. What is he…?"

Shizuru smiled and she lightly touched the queen's hand. "He won't hurt Hiei." She said making Mukuro look at her questionably.

"Is that a prediction?" she asked

"Do you want one?" Mukuro nodded her head slowly, and held out her hand. Shizuru sighed as she put the bud into the lord's hand, smothering it out. "You don't always have to use pain as payment you know."

"Everything deserves a price; the future especially needs one. To gain something without putting any work into it is a pathetic way to live." Mukuro said as the cigarette burned her flesh. Shizuru sat up and took her hand in hers.

"So getting hurt by a human damages your pride?"

"No, getting hurt by a friend always stings the most." Mukuro said with a smile as she relaxed in her chair again. "So yakuza, tell me what you can see."

Shizuru's eyes went blank as she went into a trance. An aura swirled around her as she talked in a monotone voice. "A strange aura surrounds the boy, he is of a species unknown, and belongs no where, not in ningenkai nor makai. Yet his is a race that controls and thrives in both worlds. His heart hides secrets, and a dark figure circles in his soul, for protection against fears. It will not surface unless if someone awakens it. He has great power on his own though, and strength in body, mind, heart, and soul. Do not fear him, do not hate him, and do not worry. He will not hurt what is most important, but threatens to steal it. If something does not catch him first."

Mukuro's eyes filled with confusion and suspicion. The child would steal her most precious possession? A dark soul? A different species? Closing her eyes, she started pondering all the hints, putting them together. Shizuru shook her head and looked at Mukuro tiredly.

"So, how did it go; any good information?" She asked, unable to remember what she said. Mukuro looked up and smiled.

"Yup, and now I have a lot to think about. Want in on it?"

"Nah, I'll pass this time Queenie, but I will have another smoke as confiscation." The psychic said with a laugh, and Mukuro laughed as well.

"Anything for you dearest."

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Kurama sighed as he put on his waiter outfit. It was in the traditional English type costume, with a black vest, a white blouse that went underneath, and slick black slickpants. There was also a ribbon that he was supposed to wear, but in his opinion it was too restricting around his neck. Youko made a couple a wise cracks about the outfit, but Kurama could only glare back at him. Truthfully though, he felt a little weird around the ex-yoko. Knowing now that his life long companion and friend was the thing he had the most interest in, made him feel so excited. For once he could learn all about Makai and Ningenkai, and learn all the land walker culture that the fox knew. However, he wondered how he could ask all these questions. It wasn't the fact that he had no voice that bothered him; it was that he didn't want to look like a fool. Asking questions that may seem obvious to him were things that Kurama obsessed about constantly.

Sighing, he stretched out on his bed. Idly, he turned his head to the side, and saw the box of things that the idiotic man had given him the other day. What was his name again? It was something similar to one of his brother's, but just slightly different. Suzuka? Sukaki?

Suddenly, there was a loud pounding at his door and he turned in confusion. _'Who on earth could that be?'_ He thought, and Youko who was soaked and sitting on a chair as a merman, turned quickly into a crab.

Kurama walked to the door and was about to open, when it slammed open on its own accord. Kurama glared as the man- no, idiot he was thinking about waltzed in.

"Shuichi-kun, it's so nice to see you again. It is I the beautiful Suzuki." Kurama continued glaring as the man walked in, carrying an outfit that was packaged, so he couldn't see what it was. "I know we have met under strange circumstances, but that has not stopped me from wanting our castle's guest to miss out on certain events. This ball is going to be fascinating, a masquerade! As such I have made you an outfit, so you and I can-"

**Shut up, I can't go with you. Can't you see by the outfit that I'm a waiter for tonight?** Kurama said using sign language.

"Wa-waiter? They made you a waiter for tonight?" Suzuki asked and Kurama nodded, still annoyed with the man. "Oh, I see… that's too bad. Huh, have you not checked out the stuff I gave you?" He asked, noticing the box on one of the tables. Kurama shook his head and Sazuki walked toward it. "You really should see them, they might be older models, but they are still relatively useful. This, for example, is a very fine recorder that I made about a month back." He said as he picked up a device.

Kurama stared at the tiny thing. It was white, small, enough that if you could fit it in a rose the petals would keep it hidden.

"This isn't all; this is just one of two sets. You see, It works as a recorder, but it's also a microphone that's wireless from its main part. The actual recorder is here." He said as he handed a bigger thing to Kurama. It looked a lot like an old fashion walk man (Kurama had found one in a ship one time) but instead of a tape there was a tiny disk. Kurama stared in wonder; human objects really were his true interest. He smiled as he started to listen. Apparently, anything that the little one recorded could go back to the big one, in case it was destroyed. Also the big one could control the little one by acting as a switch. It could turn the little one on and off, and anything else that was needed. So it was actually pretty neat. Shuichi continued to listen as the man described many other objects in the box.

"-And of course not only is this TV remarkable because of its size, but because- oh, what time is it?" Kurama looked startled as the man looked at his watch. "Oh dear, the party is only an hour away, where did all the time go?" The man said as he got up. "Well it can't be helped; I might as well leave now. Also if you get any time off, can you-"

**You truly do remind me of one of my brothers.** Kurama suddenly said (sign language) all of a sudden, making the other man confused. **He also loved the sound of his voice, and was quite a narcissist.**

Suzuki glared at the redhead until the he continued. **However even if he was weird like that, and we did fight a lot… he wasn't bad all the time. So… thanks for the stuff Suzuki, they're pretty cool. And if I do have the time, I won't mind going to the party in that costume. **

Suzuki looked bewildered before he smiled. "That's the beautiful Suzuki to you."

Kurama smiled as the man finally left. _'__That does not mean I'll hang out with him though,' _he telepathically said to Youko, who laughed evilly.

"Hey Shuichi…shouldn't you get to the hall? The guests will be arriving soon, and your boss wanted you to be there about an hour early to help with last minute preparations." Youko said and the prince's eyes burst open.

'_Oh no, I'M LATE AGAIN!'_ He thought loudly and he quickly grabbed Youko and pushed him into his chest pocket on his vest before he started running to the hall. He was always bad at remembering times for parties, no matter where he was.

**End Of Chapter

* * *

**

Chaseha_Wing:*whispering* allo, thanks for joining me for this added bonus. What we're about to see, is behind the scenes of the Sea Prince.

*holding up a camera and opens a door*

Hiei: Stupid authors always getting us into these situations. I swear these bloody fanfiction writers get crazier by the years.

Kurama: At least you don't have to wear a fin, these costumes are so tight they cut off my circulation.

Jin: An don' fa'get that we 'av to wear im through the 'ol fic!  
Shishi: agreed, next to us you have nothing to complain about.  
Jin: say it Waka-chan!  
Shishi: STOP CALLING ME THAT!!!  
Jin: Waka-waka-waka-waka-  
SHISHI: SHUT UP!!!  
Yomi: well at least I got a good role.  
Kurama: ya, but everyone hates you. *shows him he comments*  
Yomi: WAH!!!  
Karasu: I got that too, only difference is-I'M FUCKING GREY!!! I swear that writer will pay for damaging my good looks. But at least I had fun with Kurama ^^.  
Shuichi: *pales*  
Youko: *sigh* forced into a crab form, how humiliating...  
Kuwabara: I'M STILL A CARP! A CARP! HOW DARE YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT UR STUPID PROBLEMS!!!  
Youko: *not listening* siiigh... a crab.  
Shura: Hey, what's that red light?  
Yomi: ITS THE EDITOR! GET 'EM!!!

Chaseha: Uh oh, time to go. please review, I love constructive critism! WAAAAAAHHHH!!!! *running away*


	20. Chapter 17

**The Sea Prince**

**Chapter 17**

Chaseha: Yo, long time no see ^^ *dodges another shoe* I seem to be getting good at dodging those *SWAT*...ow...ok so I could use some work.

Any way, its good to be done. u have no idea of the horrors my editor put me through as I wrote this. She made sure to black mail, threaten, and push me until the job was done. Without her I may have just been even more lazy...as usual *dodges another shoe* WHO KEEPS THROWING THOSE!  
Night Tsuki: Me you slacker!  
Chaseha: EEK! THE EVIL EDITOR! making her first appearance in this side commentary.  
Night Tsuki:Starting from now on I will be trying to set due dates (YAY!). They may not always be done on time because of interfering daily life, but none the less you will have due dates now!  
Chaseha: boo, do I have to?  
Night: Do I really have to answer that question, when you already know what I'm going to say.  
Chaseha:... no... no u don't TT_TT.

Well, that's all for our corner right now. Without further ado (PLEASE REVIEW!) let the fic begin!

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The sounds of elegant music, the swishing gowns and beautiful suits of nobles, and the lovely young gossip of a happy crowd; to many this would be a peaceful and elegant theme to any story. To Hiei, this was a scene that made him feel like going on a killing spree.

Hiei **hated** parties. He never gave a reason why, but he made it clear to anyone who bothered to ask. Maybe it was because the music was always something classical which he heard over a hundred times before, or possibly it was the flamboyant and colorful outfits he was forced to be around, maybe it was the large crowds that he was forced to join and just possibly, it was the girls who kept staring at a distance. However this last part was better then them actually talking to him. But truly, Hiei would rather wear **pink**, than host a party.

The young prince's mood dampened even further when he felt an arm sling around his shoulders. "Hey Hiei, hell of a party isn't it?" asked the cheerful young voice of Yusuke Urameshi.

Hiei gave him a death glare and roughly pushed the offending arm off him.

"So you're sulking right now, huh?"

"I am not 'sulking.' I'm merely wishing that this hall explodes into flames, or some other loathsome deed happens so I can kill something and end this foolish get together." Hiei said angrily. Yusuke laughed nervously before offering Hiei a glass of alcohol. The angry prince took the cup and took a large gulp before finally noticing what Yusuke was wearing.

Yusuke's outfit was more of a traditional man's suit, including a white blouse, a jacket and matching pants. The only real difference was that the coat and pants were a deep lovely emerald green, with black trimming on the sleeves. If Yusuke was a grown up, he would be considered handsome, especially with the emerald green mask on. Unfortunately, he was not a grown up, and so the outfit did not only not suit him, it made him look ridiculous.

"Excellent monkey suit Urameshi - sama, might I say that you're looking even more ridiculous by the day."

"Bite me ass wipe! Shizuru didn't have time to make me anything (she didn't bother) so Keiko and I went shopping for it (she forced him into it). Besides she said I looked handsome." Yusuke defended.

"Maybe to another ningen buffoon," Hiei muttered darkly, finally finishing his glass. Seeing a waiter he was about to place the glass on his tray, when he noticed the crimson locks on the man. If Hiei were still drinking, he would have spit the liquor out.

"Ku-Shuichi!" He gasped out and Kurama turned to look at them and wave innocently, as if it were perfectly natural for him to be there.

"Yo, Shuichi, what are you doing here?" Yusuke asked much more relaxed then the hot headed demon. Kurama actually had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, as he held out his arms, showing off his waiters outfit. "N-no, I mean why aren't you in the kitchen. I thought you were the dishwasher." Yusuke explained, and Kurama's eyes lit up in comprehension. He looked around to see if there was a place to put down his tray, before just shrugging and giving it (pushed it into by force) to Yusuke, who accepted it without question. He then started using sign language to tell a brief explanation of why he was there.

**My boss offered me the night off in exchange for me doing this instead. So I could either do another mountain of dishes, or hang out in at a party, with glorious music and lovely outfits, without a huge strain on my body. Which one would you do?**

"Well that makes sense." Yusuke said calmly (Hiei had to translate for him).

"I'd choose the dishes." Hiei muttered darkly and Shuichi just smiled, shrugging his shoulders. **You can have my morning shift then.** He stated with a smile, making the shortest of the three glare at him. Kurama kept smiling as he took back his tray and looked the two up and down. **You look good, **he 'told' Hiei before walking off, making Hiei's eyes widen slightly. Yusuke looked down at him, snickering behind his hand.

"What is it now detective?" Hiei asked annoyed.

"I was just wondering if the blush is from the booze, or the flamin' hot red head." Hiei covered his face and then turned his death glare to the prince.

"It's a hallucination from your retarded brain." Hiei replied with some resentment. Yusuke just laughed it off.

"Well whatever, just remember to get rid of that cup you're holding next time." He said and Hiei looked down at his empty glass, before silently fuming.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mukuro was also having a dull time as she flirted with other nobles. She usually did this as a formality, as she hated most of them. She never wore dresses as they showed off her metallic limbs too much and it often freaked people out, but it seemed that her suit was not enough for these royal bastards.

Mukuro's mask covered half her face, and spread out like a bird's wings. It was red with orange and gold. Feathers and spiral designs shaped into the mask. Both eye holes had glass in it, one to replace her glass eye, and the other to in large her real eye to make them look even. To replace her usual scarf was a type of cape that went across her body. The rim was out lined in gold, with different types of red diamonds sown into the seams. She wore a blouse, which was covered by a jacket that was very similar to a noble or a commander of an important ship in the seventeenth century. This was also ruby red with sparkles of gold. Finally, the pants were slightly loose- on the edge of puffy, until it got to her ankles. There the cuffs of her pants tightened to fit the lower half of her shins. Along the pant legs, and on the front of her shirt, were golden phoenixes sown right into the outfit. In fact, the outfit itself was designed after a phoenix.

"Mukuro darling, why don't you wear dresses? I know many gowns that would look dazzling on you." A young female president said, and Mukuro laughed with her.

"I just feel more comfortable in these cloths. Besides, I have such an amazing costume designer that I just can't say no when she makes me something. She even made my rally son look like a gentleman." With that the whole group laughed. Mukuro took a sip of her wine, while inside she shared the same views of the party as Hiei. The only reason why she held them was to secretly gain information from other leaders, and to look for potential mates for Hiei. This time however, the room was full of presidents and nobles she already knew and didn't care about, and females (and the occasional male) whom Hiei already rejected.

'_Koenma we are going to have a serious chat about inviting more people without informing me._' She thought angrily. She silently looked at a king from a country in Africa whom she really wanted to gain information from. Unfortunately with so many people around, it was impossible to talk to him privately. She secretly cursed the whole room, totally agreeing with Hiei. '_This is a waste of time.'

* * *

_

Hiei glowered as he leaned against the wall. He was considering lighting it on fire in hopes that it would crash the party, but he had a feeling that if he did he'd be thoroughly punished if he did. He sighed and set his sight on the finely decorated ceiling. Breathtaking deities, powerful demons and humans were scattered upon it, as well as many powerful creatures. Each was surrounded by its own type of scenery, and he even saw a mermaid in one sketch were it was surrounded in water. This painting was made during the Middle Ages in Europe, were a man decided to place as many folklore, legends and myths into one painting. The man's name was never known, and the painting never became famous until Mukuro found it in a market one day. A child was selling some objects that she found in her attic, and Mukuro was immediately interested in the old painting. She quickly bought the painting, restored it to its former glory, and made a copy of it on top of her own ballroom ceiling. When Hiei asked her why she liked it so much, she replied she found the irony was hilarious to her.

The painting was meant to represent creatures that didn't exist or classic tales which were later described as fairy tales or myths. And yet over 80 percent of the creatures were real or were very similar. The witches could be psychics, demons now walked among humans as nearly equals, dragons were now a known species, and many of the myths were proven to be true stories after a while. "Plus it's a beautiful picture! You can easily get lost just staring at it as it tells you its tales." Hiei let a small smile touch his face when he remembered Mukuro saying that. It truly was a wonderful masterpiece.

Hiei suddenly looked to his left, started when he felt a presence nearby him. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Shuichi standing there, looking up as well, before looking down to him. **It's a lovely canvas.** Shuichi 'said' to him and Hiei just shrugged.

"It was Mukuro's choice to put it there; I had no opinion in the matter." Hiei said in his neutral way, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Kurama stared at him before raising his hand to cover his mouth, trying to cover up his chuckle. Hiei glared before asking what he was laughing about. Kurama just waved his hand, before looking up again. **It's nothing, but for the record, I like it too.**

Hiei didn't react on the outside, but on the inside he was a bit surprised. It was like this 'Shuichi' could read him, but he knew that was unlikely. Almost everyone got spooked by his cold indifference. Only Mukuro and a chosen few saw behind his mask. Suddenly a tray appeared in front of him and Kurama smiled and nodded his head in the direction of Hiei's empty glass. Hiei was about to put the empty glass on the tray when suddenly an annoying voice stopped him.

"Oh Hiei-sama, it's been so long." Suddenly Hiei froze and a girl pushed Kurama out of the way to talk to Hiei. The idea of mass murder came back in full force when he noticed who it was: Princess Juri.

"Well not that long, but long enough. A few weeks can be considered long right?" She said cheerfully. She quickly turned to a confused Kurama and glared at him. "What are you still doing here? Go away and start serving drinks or something," Kurama felt a strong stab of annoyance and just barely contained a glare before he walked away.

'_What a brat,' _he thought bitterly, forgetting once again to take Hiei's glass.

Hiei stared after the redhead, the farther away the boy went, the stronger his grip on the glass got. That was one of the best conversations he'd had in a long time (not that he'd admit it), and it was ruined by a girl he already rejected.

"I hate it when servants step out of line." Juri said. Hiei didn't even look her way but she kept talking anyway. "Give them an inch and before you know it they got a foot; much more then that and you don't have a leg to stand on. It's a quote from one of my favorite English sic cons; I doubt you've heard of it." She explained as Hiei glared at her from the corner of his eye. He then turned his back on her and would have walked away if she hadn't grabbed his arm. "Wait a minute Hiei-sama. This is a party, and yet you have not attended to any of you guests. You should dance with me, especially since you left so early on your last visit. As soon as that storm cleared up, you just got up and left. I was just barely notified of your departure." She said, with anger at the tip of her voice. Hiei merely shook her off.

"Take the hint then," was all he said before walking away from her. Princess Juri stood there, her mouth agape for a moment before she glared after him.

'_Just wait Hiei you'll be mine. I'll make sure of it.'_ She thought.

* * *

It took a lot of reassuring from Youko, and some deep self control to keep Kurama from glaring angrily at anything and everything. He couldn't believe he was just called a servant! Sure he knew it would probably happen, but he did have a name: it was in bold letters on his vest. Not to mention the palace he was from was far bigger than any country she could ever have. '_Wasn't there a person executed in 879 AC for calling a sea king a duke? She should be lucky we still don't live in those days.'_ He thought bitterly.

'_Shuichi, take a deep breath and let it go.'_ Youko stated as he read Kurama's thoughts. '_People like that have always been ignorant. Just don't worry; she won't be here long. As soon as this snore fest of a ball is over, she'll be on her way home in her daddy's yacht.' _Youko assured him with a smirk (though no one could see it as he was still in the pocket.). Kurama just sighed and agreed silently, heading over to some other princesses who were gossiping in a corner.

"- I know, any one who gets Hiei's attention will be set for life." One of them said, she had pointed, fuzzy ears on top of her head, and a matching tail.

"I know Koto-sama, that's why we all are after him." Another girl said.

"Yet Mukuro is always stating that she wants someone to love the little rat first. Personally, I think he should be happy to get any attention at all, especially since he's not even a real prince. I say he's the best prize out there." The third princess said. They laughed together, and Kurama did glare at them after hearing this.

"Hey, Mr. Butler, come here for a second." The princess with the ears said and Kurama put on a blank face as he walked over to them. She then grabbed a glass off his tray and nodded her head. "Thanks cutie." She said before going back to gossip with the others. Kurama quickly turned around and left. He got angry just listening to them, but he stopped when he heard something else.

"I hear Juri's father is going to pull some strings to make her stay for a while. So long as she stays here, Hiei will be forced to entertain her; he won't have time for anything else. As long as Hiei's her pray, she won't leave him alone." The girls laughed. Kurama's arms felt week for a second, causing him to almost drop his drinks.

He looked down when two hands grabbed his slim wrists. He turned quickly, seeing the kind, brown eyes of Yusuke Urameshi.

"Better be careful buddy, dropping those glasses means you'll have to pay for them." He said cheerfully. Suddenly, he noticed the dark look in Shuichi's eyes and had a **_'brilliant'_** idea. "Hey bud you seem a bit down. Here try this." He said as he put a plastic cup on Shuichi's tray.

'_But I'm working right now.'_ Kurama thought and he tried to say this in sign language before Yusuke just laughed out.

"No idea what you just said!" He said and Kurama glared at him. "But who cares; I'm a lord aren't I? Don't worry, you won't get into any trouble, I promise. What's one drink gonna do anyway?" He said with a cheerful laugh. Kurama looked at the drink and shrugged, picking it up.

'_I am a bit thirsty,' _Shuichi thought as he sniffed it. _'Smells a bit weird though.'_ Kurama shrugged and took a small sip. A unique flavor that Kurama never tasted before filled his mouth. A special blend of fruit mixed into it, so it was a little sweet and at the same time dry. Kurama smiled as warmth filled his body, and clogged his mind. He he lifted the cup higher as he drank it all at once.

"Wow, nice job man." Yusuke said with a laugh. He'd never seen someone chug wine like that before. When Kurama finished he held out the cup to Yusuke who took it along with Kurama's tray. "That was awesome man, I guess this isn't your first time-" he stopped when Kurama looked him dead in the eye. The boy's eyes which were usually clear and full of intelligence seemed clouded and… mischievous? Yusuke felt some sweat drop form on his head as he saw Kurama turn and glare at a girl who was talking to Hiei a little off. Yusuke was sure he saw jealousy in those seaweed green eyes when they turned their gaze to him. Suddenly a note was attached to his face and the red head was walking steadily away. Turning the note around, Yusuke paled as he read.

**Tell Botan to cover for me, I'm going to take a break. You did say I wouldn't get in trouble… right?**

Suddenly, Yusuke felt as if he let loose something dark and powerful without knowing it. He looked at the empty glass of wine, and went to check on the brand he gave to the redhead. As soon as he got to the bar, he asked to look at the bottle, and read what was in it. Upon seeing the label, only one word came to mind.

"Shit!"

* * *

Youko felt himself being thrown to the bed, along with the rest of Kurama's vest. He had tried to talk to the boy, but the kid wasn't in his right mind; it seemed to be clouded and not working properly. He had no doubt that some kind of alcohol had been in the cup Yusuke gave to Shuichi, but he had no idea that it would affect the young prince **this** badly. He quickly exited from the annoying pocket, and got out from underneath the clothing, but his mouth dropped when he saw:

Shuichi smirked down at the crab as he held a fox mask in front of his face. The mischievous eyes promised action tonight, before they were covered up.

* * *

Suzuki sighed deeply as he exited the party hall for a moment. He had been enjoying himself, but he truly wished that the young waiter had come with him. _'With his beauty, and my wonderful taste in clothing, we would have been the stars of the party.' _He thought miserably. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to turn around.

It was amazing, the outfit he was just picturing and the boy whom they were suppose to be on materialized in front of him. The fox mask covered half of the boy's face, and was shaped in the Venice style. On the top of the mask was silvery hair, which floated down Kurama's elegant back. The boy also wore all white with pants made from famous Arabian silk, and a shirt that had a long sleeved coat covering it. There were hardly any designs on it but the silver thread that outlined the pockets was absolutely divine. This costume was meant to symbolize the most beautiful demon in over a millennium: Youko Kurama. Silently, Kurama held out his hand, and motioned to the dance floor. Suzuki took it immediately.

Kurama smirked through the glass that covered his eyes. It wasn't originally meant to be there, but Kurama used a small amount of water to cover the eye holes to make it cover his eyes in a plain white sheet (think Spiderman). His actual hair was in a tightly knit bun, so only the silver showed. This made him unrecognizable, and thus he needed a partner to enter the ball room to avoid suspicion from the guards. All was going exactly as planned as he fingered a yellow rose in his chest pocket.

As soon as they entered, Kurama let himself be dragged around by Suzuki for a while, before he let a small piece of paper slip into the older demon's hand. The man looked at it in confusion before looking at Kurama who merely waved at him and walked away. Suzuki looked angry before he opened the paper.

**I need to take care of some business. Thank you for letting me in, but if I don't do something soon then I'll be in some serious trouble. Don't worry, I'll reward you handsomely later on, I Promise.**

**Signed: Shuichi Minamino**

Suzuki looked up in confusion, before going towards Mukuro. _'It's best she knows about this._'

Hiei was on his last nerve as this girl clung to him. Even though he was a demon who use to enjoy man slaughter and taking over the world (which he failed at), he didn't think he deserved this.

* * *

"Hiei-sama just dance with me! It's not like you have any thing better to do." The princess stated angrily. "Besides, if I'm going to be staying here for a while, you might as well start paying attention to me now."

Hiei merely glared in another direction away from her. _'Shut up!' _The prince thought angrily as she clawed at his last nerve. He swore that if she didn't leave soon then he might 'accidentally' start a war by killing nobility. Mukuro would seriously punish him then.

Suddenly a tall and handsome stranger appeared before the princess. She turned away from the hot blooded prince whom she was bugging, to look upon a mysterious stranger. For a second she gasped, as white light surrounded the man and she was almost certain that it was the old thief lord, Youko Kurama whom stood in front of them. Then like a romantic soldier, he gently reached out and pushed a stray hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She felt a blush creep its way up her cheeks as he used the same hand to tip her head up, and look deeply into her eyes. She couldn't look away as he smiled gently down at her, and tucked a yellow rose behind her ear (the thorns were removed). He then stepped back, and looked as though examining her. Smirking, he bowed down while raising a hand, his palm faced upwards; this motion could be identified by any person, symbolizing his wish to dance. Hypnotized by his actions, she took his hand as he led her to the dance floor.

Hiei watched with his brows knit in disbelief. '_What the hell just happened here?'_ He thought. Although he was grateful that Juri was now thoroughly distracted and he could finally make his escape, he was worried about the new stranger. With experience he knew that people who appeared randomly were people who meant to harm or kill the guests. He was about to go warn someone, when the man looked back at him, and waved his hand in front of his mask. Hiei's eyes widened as the glass disappeared, revealing seaweed green eyes. When the man waved the hand back in front of him again, the glass was back in place. Hiei stood there in shock.

'_Kurama… or is it Shuichi?'_ He was snapped out of his musings when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Hiei ol' buddy o'pal, I may have just caused a small problem." A nervous looking Yusuke said. "Um, I kind of gave Shuichi something to drink, to calm his nerves so he might act a bit off for a while. Oh and he's on a break as well, don't worry Kieto knows so- um, it'll be okay." He said nervously. Hiei raised his brow.

"Something to drink?" Hiei muttered. He then shrugged, '_it's not like Yusuke would give the boy something too strong, especially since the boy was under aged'_. Little did he know that tightly clenched in Yusuke's fist, was the label of ingredients that were in the wine and the warning that mentioned that ogresbane was contained within it.

* * *

Juri laughed as she danced with the stranger. He was such a graceful dancer, who seemed to glide with the music, more then step. She relaxed and did her best to keep up, but he was so experienced that she feared that she may have been falling behind. Yet even though the stranger said nothing, he seemed to reassure her with a smile. However she started getting tired of all the dancing. As if sensing her change in mood, he seemed to slow down, and tilt his head toward the balcony. She quickly got the hint and nodded, allowing him once again to lead her to a more secluded area.

Soon Kurama escorted her outside, and she laughed and chatted happily as he lead her on. She was so preoccupied with the ocean view in the moonlight that she didn't even notice that the smile he gave her was quickly becoming a smirk. As they passed the doors to the balcony, Juri walked ahead, while the man stopped to close the doors. Kurama's smile dropped as he looked at the door. His intent was that they had to be alone for a certain amount of time. To make sure that no one would open the doors, he took out a small water bottle which he kept hidden, and splashed some onto the keyhole and doorknob. It changed into ice within a second, and he finally turned to face Juri who was still chattering away. "I really have never danced with someone like you. It was really-" She gasped seeing the drastic change in his expression. Before, he had always kept a kind smile on his face (or at least an amused smirk). Now though, his expression turned cold and his smile melted away to reveal a stern scowl. Raising his hand, he revealed a note.

**Good evening princess, I was hoping we could have a little chat tonight**.

Juri stepped back as he tossed the note, and raised his hands to grab the sides of his mask. With little work he removed the mask from his face and dropped it to his side, revealing his true identity. "You? The loser butler?" She then started laughing but Kurama's grim expression did not change. "You really think that I'd be intimidated by a human? Stupid servant, you're wasting my time." She said and Kurama smirked and took something out of his pocket. He then threw it at her and she easily caught it and instantly recognized it to be another note.

**What's the problem with talking to me? I can not talk back, for I have no voice.**

"You're a mute," Juri asked shock. Shuichi smirked and nodded his head. "How pointless! Why have servants who can do nothing? Someone like you has no reason to live." She said with a scowl. Then Kurama smirked, his foggy drunk mind encouraging him on. He simply took out a note and wrote something down before throwing it to her."You're the dish washer…" She said before looking at him. "It's a tough job, but it makes sense now. Not even Mukuro would hire something like you unless you had some uses. So what do you want from me?" She asked and Kurama put on his smile he used to lure her. He quickly held up his first note, and she just glared at him and walked to the door. "I never listen to my subjects, or anything below them." She said and she tried to open the door. She stopped when it didn't budge it. She whipped around and looked at Kurama who was smiling while sitting on the balcony, a key in his hand.

Kurama smirked, thinking how funny it was that she couldn't see that it was merely his room's key, and nothing more.

**Can we talk now?**

She glared at the note and groaned in annoyance.

"You'll let me go if I just answer a few questions?" She asked suspiciously and Kurama nodded with a happy grin on his face. "Fine, but what do I get out of this?" She asked annoyed and Kurama smirked and held up another note.

**You can tell the truth, and the full truth. I will know if you're lying, but I can't tell anyone. And if you decide that you said too much, then you can kill me off. Your word will be worth more then a dead servant's anyways. Just let me finish and I'll give you the chance to kill me, just so you know: I will fight back to defend myself.**

Juri smirked as the boy patted his vest, as if wiping off some imaginary dust. _'This is just so perfect. Not only will I get Hiei, but I'll win his affection by destroying this puny ningen. I could do so now, but that wouldn't be so much fun. I'm also curious about what he's planning on asking about.'_

"Alright human slave, ask away." She said in a bored tone. Kurama was getting more annoyed by the second by the 'slave' and 'servant' comments, but he pushed away his annoyance for the time being and just got out his previously prepared questions.

**Question 1: What do you think about Hiei?**

"Hiei!? Is this what it's all about?" She then started laughing. "What an idiot you are, of course I hate him! He's a little bug eyed creep, both in size and in intellect, with the conversation skills of a cactus. He only wants power and ignores all those whom he doesn't like. The only person he acknowledges is that prince with stuffing for brains, and that highly masculine queen. God I wished I'd killed him when I had the chance!" Kurama's eyes widened in shock, '_What did she say?'_

"Well next question servant boy," She ordered calmly and Kurama grabbed the next note and held it up.

**Question 2: Why do you wish to mate with Hiei?**

"Again with the Hiei, think of something else already! And its not just me, Koto wants him too. The reason is obvious: he's rich and has a lot of land. Any princess ('_and the occasional prince'_ she thought darkly) would want the power he has. As soon as I acquire it, I'd care less what happens to him, he could rot in a ditch for all I care. Koto thinks the same thing." Even though the answers were the type Kurama was hoping for, he couldn't help but be shocked by her blood lust. _'I know she's a demon, but isn't this going too far?'_

**Last question: What would you do for Hiei?**

"What would I do? I can tell you what I've already done if you wish." She said with an evil smirk forming on her face. "A few weeks ago, I asked two people to make their way on Hiei's ship, to assist him in leaving the country. When they were far enough out, they caused an 'accident,' where the ship caught fire during a fire work display." Images flashed through Kurama's mind as she spoke, including the firework that almost hit him. "After that Hiei, Yusuke and my assistants got into a bit of a scuffle, and both of my assistants got killed. It's so sad that they couldn't do as they were paid to do before the end. They were supposed to get me a very rare item, one that's as rare as the moon." She said as she walked to the balcony and Kurama moved out of way. "They were supposed to bring me back the head of the fire demon and forbidden child, Hiei of the Jaganshi!"

Kurama stared in shock before smirking back at her.

"Now servant boy, it's time to die." She said harshly and whipped around. However instead of seeing a scared human in the corner, she saw an up close smirk as Kurama suddenly appeared right in front of her. **Thank you for the interview**, the boy said in sign language. He suddenly dug his fingers into the rose he gave her earlier, and took out something small and white, so that the petals hid it from view. Her eyes widened in shock and horror as she instantly recognized it. '_A recorder!' _Her horror quickly turned into rage as she screamed to the heavens before punching him into the wall.

Kurama coughed as he hit the wall, and gasped for breath. When he looked up he saw Juri looking at him with glowing blue eyes, filled with rage. She raised her arm, and the water from the sea below them started to bubble and raise behind her. It quickly became a type of wave and headed straight for Kurama. _'Uh oh!' _Was the boy's last thought before the wave hit him with such force that it knocked him threw the doors and kept going until he hit the ballroom wall. The water didn't stop there; before the prince could even fall to the ground, it went around him and trapped him in a cocoon.

To say the guests were shocked was an understatement. If it wasn't for Yusuke's and Hiei's quick reflexes, three of the guests would have been struck by the blast as well. Mukuro glared as she saw Juri with her hands up, trapping the boy inside. "What is the meaning of this?" The queen yelled and Juri looked back to her.

"Your majesty, that man's an assassin! He tried to lure me into a trap by bringing me outside and away from prying eyes. After that he tricked me into conversation, and all of a sudden jumped at me with a kitchen knife. I was able to avoid it, but then he attacked again and knocked the rose out of my hair. During the fight I knocked off his mask to reveal that servant I met earlier. He must have snapped, or maybe he was here to kill us all since the beginning!" She shrieked, playing the innocent card. The crowd started to mutter in worry and inside Juri smirked. _'What could he possibly have been thinking, saying I could kill him afterwords. He probably just wanted a fancy death from a powerful water demon like myself.' _She laughed to herself.

No one noticed the faint glow that started to arise in the middle of the cocoon, or the figure which started swimming inside, until it was too late.

CRACK

The whole room froze when that sickening sound filled the air, and everyone looked towards the cocoon and gasped. Before it was just water, but now it had turned to ice, and a giant crack made its way down the middle. It then split in half from the middle, splashing water onto the floor. Kurama huffed in the middle of it, his hair released from the confines of the bun so the red tresses plastered against his outfit. One of the sleeves was completely ripped off, while the other just had a bunch of tears, just like his pants.

Kurama looked up and around until his eyes rested on Hiei. They stared at each other for a moment, their gazes linking. It was then that Kurama broke into a huge grin and waved happily at him, making Hiei and Yusuke gape, while half of the guests fell over in shock.

Kurama swayed slightly as he tried to stand upright, and looked back to Juri with a smirk plastering his face.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL STANDING AROUND FOR! SOMEONE GO-" She stopped when Kurama reached into what was left of his shirt, and pulled out a second recorder. The beautiful Sazuki knew what that was instantly and ran over to the queen.

"Lord Mukuro, that recorder is a set of two; I think there's something valuable on that. Please hold you're command to kill him." He said quickly and Mukuro eyed him suspiciously before nodding. She held up her hand to the guards, signaling them to stay until she said otherwise. The guards tensed up, but stayed where they were.

Kurama kept his eyes on Juri and raised his hand from his side; the water on the ground immediately leaped up from the ground and followed his fingertips. He then started writing some words and everyone looked shocked as the water did as he commanded. Such control of water was unheard of, even by the most skilled water demons.

**How about another bet Juri-chan!**

Every one gasped when the servant addressed her in such terms, but he ignored them and kept writing.

**If you can beat me in a simple duel in say… five minutes, then I'll give you this second recorder since you destroyed the last one. Therefore you're little shenanigans will be all hushed up. However if you lose, I'll tell everyone here what you've done.**

His smirk suddenly left and a thoughtful look came to his face. He quickly turned to Mukuro and started writing a message for her.

**That is if it's okay with you my lord. Can we please fight? Pretty please!**

Mukuro had a blank look on her face, and at first all the guests thought she would explode in anger. No one could believe how this supposedly human brat would have such arrogance to say things to a demon lord. However she just laughed and waved her hand. "But of course. After all Juri is a professional water demon. If she can't defeat something like you, then she'll be too weak for Hiei. Also: If there's anything… troubling on that tape, then I won't let you anywhere near here again, if you survive leaving that is. So I better not hear anything." Mukuro said with a dark smile which made everyone in the room freeze in fear, except Kurama, who grinned stupidly. "Well, I'll be the referee. The rules are simple, kill the other in five minutes, or make the other immobile. You can't hurt the guests, and this room better be repairable by the end, or else either your kingdom is paying for it, or its coming out of you're paycheck!" She said pointing at Juri and Kurama.

Kurama gave her a short clumsy bow, and a thumbs up while Juri stood there in shock. _'She's absolutely serious,'_ she thought in fear.

"Very well, begin!" Mukuro yelled with a smirk. Juri gave out a battle cry and raised her hands, making the water raise over 20 feet in the air. _'Fine then, I'll just have to kill him, and break that recorder, so no proof is ever found!'_ She thought as she sent the water at him. Kurama looked up at the water and jumped to the side avoiding it completely. Juri screamed and moved her hands to the side, forcing the water to change directions and head right at the sea prince.

Hiei watched with Yusuke off on the side. They watched the redhead dodge one blow after the next. Yusuke was feeling especially guilty, knowing that at least part of this was his fault. Kurama wouldn't have started acting so weird if he hadn't gotten him drunk. _'I gave him Ogresbane for Christ sake! I didn't know it was in there until I saw the bottle. Even if it was mixed with things to weaken its affects, it still could put almost any human under the table with less then one gulp. But this guy is just drunk. Man Hiei's gonna kill me when he finds out.' _Little did Yusuke know that Hiei's jagan was starting to open, and he just heard the last part of Yusuke's thought.

'_Now what on earth did you do detective?'_ He thought angrily as he watched the red head dodge another blow. He had noticed the boy behind him was being extremely odd even before the fight. He also mentioned giving Shuichi something before, and he was almost positive that it had something to do with the shift in the red head's personality.

Kurama started to get sad as he watched the girl attack. _'The water…is just being thrown around, with no thought or concern for it.' _He thought as she attacked once again and he had to jump backwards and did a back flip. He landed in a crouched position as he looked up, his pupils suddenly got a bit bigger and his eyes started to glow. '_This is not how you control water!'_ He thought angrily before standing straight up. Raising his arms above his head, and he suddenly flared his energy as the water came to attack him again. _'I am a sea prince, will you truly attack me?' _he thought as he spread his arms out wide, his energy surrounding him.

'_I've never sensed anything like this!' _Mukuro thought in shock.

'_It's almost like he's apart of the ocean itself!'_ Shizuru thought, staring at the energy around the boy. "He's not human… or a demon!" She said.

"DIE NOW!" Juri yelled as the water connected with him. She laughed out loud, thinking that she finally won. The recorder couldn't survive a perfect hit like that. However she stopped laughing when the blast suddenly opened up a hole on its own, and went right past him. Kurama stayed still as the water hit the wall behind him. He turned to look at the damage and found a gaping hole in the wall. He then sighed as he ran a hand through his wet hair.

'_I believe it's time to end this.'_ He thought bitterly as he glared back at Juri. He dropped his hand in a puddle right under him and made a grabbing motion. Standing up, the water trailed from his hand to the puddle taking the form of a rope. He looked up at her as he brought down his arm and the whole room heard a cracking sound, as the floor title broke under the snap of a new found whip.

"What is that?" a few guests muttered as they stared in shock.

"It's like he made the water physical enough to do actual damage."

"It's an aqua whip!" One person stated a bit louder making Kurama stop for a second.

'_Aqua whip… shard whip. The first sounds so much better." _He thought as he lookedat the whip in his hand. It suddenly glowed a bit and he smiled. _'It seems the water likes it more as well._' He was so focused on the name that he didn't notice Juri until she sent another water ball at him. He looked up and sighed. In a flash the ball was split in half before exploding into many droplets. Juri growled and then sent razor sharp ice disks at him.

He did the same thing again with his whip, cutting all of the disks in half before they exploded into droplets of water again. All the time just walking closer to Juri, who panicked and kept throwing hoards of water at him. Finally when he was less than three meters away she screamed and held up her arms.

"AQUA BEAM!" It was a jet stream of water that just kept going, and it was aimed right at Kurama. There wasn't enough time to dodge, and Hiei knew even he would get hurt from such a close range. Everyone stared as the redhead just took a stance no one knew.

Kurama wrapped the whip around his arm and his eyes glowed blue as his energy flared. He forced it all into his left hand. He would have yelled if he had a voice, as he slammed his fist into the water, facing it head on. His attack was so powerful that he made the water go up before exploding upon impact on the roof. A shockwave was then created making the weaker guests fall over, including Juri. The princess trembled as she locked eyes with the redhead who was panting heavily.

Mukuro looked at her watch _'30 seconds left.'_

Juri trembled as the man glared down at her. '_How is this possible? How can a mere servant have such power, it doesn't make sense!" _The red haired man then smiled innocently, and pointed up. She blinked in confusion before looking and gasped in shock. Suspended in the air, was a million droplets of water. _'But how…' _She gasped in realization. _'All those times he blocked and destroyed my attacks, the water never hit the ground. Is it possible that he placed his power into my attacks, taking complete control over them?'_

_5_

Kurama smiled and waved his hands in the air making patterns as the water started to fuse into one giant sheet.

_4_

Juri stood and tried to defend herself, but she fell and gasped as ice crept up her legs from the puddle she was laying in. The same thing happened to her arms and she stared at Kurama, whose foot was in the same puddle.

_3_

She screamed and thrashed as Kurama sped up his movements and the sheet of water started heading towards her.

_2_

The water suddenly shot down and started to surround her; trapping her inside a spherical shape.

_1_

Kurama did one last touch, turning the water into ice. He smirked as she punched from inside it. _'No matter what, you won't escape that. Your powers are so weak that you'll never break out or use water out side of that.'_

"Enough!" Mukuro suddenly said and Kurama stopped and turned to her. She looked between the two before looking at Kurama and holding out her hand. "Do you still have that recorder?" She said as she approached him. Kurama looked confused for a second, before nodding and reaching into his shirt again. He then took it out, and handed it to Mukuro who took it calmly and started playing it.

"_Alright human slave, ask away." _A silence was heard from the recorder, before Juri's voice acted up again. "_Hiei!? Is this what it's all about?_ _What an idiot you are, of course I hate him! He's a little bug eyed creep, both in size and in intellect, with the conversation skills of a cactus. He only wants power and ignores all those whom he doesn't like. The only person he acknowledges is that prince with stuffing for brains, and that highly masculine queen. God I wished I'd killed him when I had the chance!"_

Mukuro turned it off and felt nothing but murderous rage. She knew there was more but she decided that she'd listen to it later. "Guards, will you please roll the young princess to her ship, I no longer wish to see her in my kingdom ever again. Also, inform her father that our trade agreement involving food and medicine is now terminated!" She said to one guard and the whole room started to mumble in shock. That trade agreement was one of the only things keeping Juri's kingdom rich and healthy. Mukuro had made many ties with other countries, so it did nothing to hurt her.

Juri screamed in outrage as the guards rolled her away. Mukuro sighed before turning to the guests. "Well I'm sorry everyone, but it seems that this ball is now closed. I'm sorry about the disturbances you had to see tonight, and I hope that maybe one day we can get together like this again. Until that time, may you all be well. The guards will accompany to your individual ships and yachts." She announced.

As the guest started exiting the castle, Hiei grabbed Yusuke and brought him down to his level. "Tell me detective; what did you give the Minamino to drink earlier." Hiei growled out. Yusuke started to pale before laughing nervously.

'_I'm busted!' _ The prince thought before telling Hiei the truth.

* * *

Kurama stumbled through the hall way before twirling around. _'Where on earth is my room again?'_ He thought tiredly. The drink was finally taking its toll on the boy, making Kurama more clumsy and disoriented. The boy stopped when he saw a balcony and he smiled as stumbled towards it. His smile grew as the wind played with his hair, and dried his face. He was still soaked from his battle with Juri, yet he didn't have the will or energy to dry himself again. He sighed as he leaned forward against the stone railing.

"Figures as soon as we turn our backs you disappear." A deep voice said and Kurama turned around and smiled. Hiei stood only a few feet away and had his usual scowl on his face. "So I happened to over here that the girl was planning to stay for a week, and that's why you got rid of her." Hiei said and Kurama nodded. "So what, now you think I owe you one?"

Kurama seemed to laugh and then gave him a pointed look. **Please, you owe me two!**

"Two? Why on earth would you say two?" Hiei said angrily and Kurama smiled looking thoughtful for a moment. He then smirked and started 'speaking' again.

**Well, one is a secret. But the second is for getting that annoying girl away from you, and out of your kingdom. And I know what I want.**

Hiei raised a brow before letting the drunken boy continue. The boy suddenly pointed into the distance, and Hiei looked. It was a small village that lived close by the palace. It was only an hour away by foot, but it was a cheerful little place that even Hiei enjoyed.

**I want you to take me there, before the weeks done.** Kurama stated and Hiei just looked at him.

"I'm busy. Find someone else to play with you." Hiei said. He would have left but the boy grabbed his shoulder before he could flicker off. Hiei glared at the boy, who smiled kindly in return.

**I'll take the second favor right now** The boy said. He then used his figure to indicate the prince to move closer. Hiei glared at him before taking a few cautious steps forward. "What do you want?" He asked when they were close enough. Kurama merely smiled as he sat on the stone ledge and indicated for the prince to step just a little closer. Hiei growled as he took one more step closer.

Kurama smiled once the prince was right in front of him. "I'm not asking again, what do you-" Hiei was cut off when Kurama merely leaned down quickly, giving the prince a peck on the lips. Hiei stood in shock as the taller man smiled down at him before closing his eyes and falling backwards. Hiei gasped in shock as the boy fell off the railings. He would have landed strait into the ocean, if Hiei hadn't grabbed his wrist at the last moment and pulled him back up onto the balcony. He let out a sigh as he sat down, allowing the boy to rest on his lap.

"This asshole… stole my first kiss." Hiei muttered before glaring down at the boy. "If Yusuke didn't get you drunk, then I would have killed you by now!" He muttered. He then licked his lips, tasting the alcohol on them, mixing with Kurama's own unique flavor. Hiei sighed as the redhead just slept on, peacefully dreaming in the other's arms. "That's you're last favor by the way, don't expect anything else from me!" Hiei muttered. Completely unaware that he could have just left the boy to sleep alone in the cold, instead of giving him a comfortable embrace.

End Chapter

* * *

Stinking line. Its being mean to me. *suddenly notices audiance* WAH! IGNORE THAT LINE!

*ahem* nice to see you all. We'll be back later, when I finally finish the next chapter. I havn't started yet but I will-  
Tsuki: Be starting soon!  
Chaseha: EEK! My evil editor-san! Well we don't really have much to say today, so I guess I'll just say, thanks for reading and please give a review. Until next time-  
Tsuki: I'll make sure she keeps writing. Bwahahaha!  
Chaseha_Wing: TT_TT I don't own anything btw. I know it might be obvious, but I havn't said it in a while. Also, who ever gueses the sic con Juri mentioned earlier gets a cookie!  
Tsuki: *holds up the bag of cookies* Hee hee!

BYE BYE!

* * *


	21. Chapter 18

**The Sea Prince  
Chapter 18**

CW: *peaks from the corner* PLEASE HALT UR SHOES!

NT: Shoes, be worried about boulders at this point. Not to mention beds blankets and the whole room.

CW: Alright sorry sorry, I've no excuse.

NT: Stop ur apologies and get on with it.

CW: Right TT_TT

**

* * *

**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

_'Telepathic'_

"**Sign Language"**

**Note

* * *

**

Sunlight broke threw the slightly parted curtains, making a sleeping redhead roll over, face down in the mattress. It was just a little over six in the morning, and the young redhead, also known as Kurama, just wanted a few more minutes of sleep. Even if sleep involved lying horizontally across the edge of the bed with an arm and a leg dangling off the side.

This morning however, his friend/ caretaker would not allow it. Perched on top of the dresser was a _very_ ticked off white crab, clicking his claws angrily. Yes, Youko Kurama was indeed pissed off that morning.

'_Not only did he arouse suspicion with that stunt he pulled on the princess, but he also revealed his ability last night.'_ The fox turned crab thought angrily. _'If Mukuro becomes suspicious of Shuichi's intentions, then she might banish us away from the kingdom. If this happens then he'll lose the deal for sure.'_

Youko glared at the sleeping redhead as he shifted again, causing another arm to fall off the bed. _'Looks like he's starting to wake up; I better rouse the kit before he falls asleep again.' _Youko thought before scuttling closer to the bed. "Hey Shuichi; It's breakfast time." He called from the edge of the dresser.

There was a brief moment where none of the occupants in the room moved. Then, Kurama slowly rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed, facing Youko. _'Breakfast?' _Youko shook his head at the boy's simplicity.

"What the hell were you thinking last night?" Youko asked, his stern tone waking the boy even more.

'_Last night?' _Kurama tried to think back to the previous night's events, only receiving a headache for his efforts.

"Let me remind you then; you got drunk and decided to join the party. So you came back up here and tried on that lovely costume the clown got you, the one that looks exactly like me…well, the me before I was cursed by your sorry people!" Youko explained.

As if on cue, images suddenly started flashing through the prince's mind, and he covered his face in embarrassment.

"Oh there's a lot more Shu-chan. After slipping in with the clown (Suzuki), you went straight up to princess Yuri and prince Hiei, and guess which one you flirted with?" Youko asked with a cheerful voice. "That's right, you chose the princess."

By now, Kurama's face was doing a fine impression of a tomato, and was trying to cover it up with his hair and hands.

"Come now Shu-chan; don't try to hide when the best is yet to come." Kurama peeked through his fingers to see Youko's infamous evil smirk. "After sweeping her off her feet, and quite literally might I add, you were able to convince her to have a chat with her on the balcony."

Youko laughed at the mortified expression on the boy's face before continuing. "Oh don't worry kit; you didn't do anything _that _inappropriate. You just lured her away so you could reveal her evil plot; after which she tried to kill you."

By now Kurama had turned crimson from the thought of his previous behavior. The thought of disappearing became euphoric.

"So then a fight broke out, and for some unknown reason you decided to challenge her. So now your abilities with water are revealed. People are aware of your intellect and Mukuro along with half a dozen other people, have grown suspicious of you." Youko finished, his fake grin finally melted away to reveal his glare.

Kurama had become beat red by now as he remembered last nights past events. He was so mortified that he refused to move his hair or hands from his face. '_Why does it feel like I forgot something important?' _As if answering the boy's question, an image of him kissing Hiei flashed through the young prince's mind. Kurama felt his face (if possible) grow redder at the thought. '_No! There's absolutely no way I would be so forward and k-kiss Hiei!'_

Youko watched the mortified child with an amused, yet stern expression.

"So, if there is anything good or productive that will come from this, please inform me now."

Kurama stayed silent not being able to think of anything. Then, a thought occurred to him, and he raised his head weakly. _'I changed the name of the shard whip…it's now… the aqua whip.'_ He replied, telepathically, looking into the crab's eyes.

The crab was silent for a moment, before he started trembling in frustration. "I see, so that's what we get out of this mess… a new name for an old attack." There was a tense silence before Youko continued. "Shuichi… we're about to be kicked out if we don't do something soon. So either you get in Hiei's good book today, or we're history."

Shuichi willed himself to calm down, once that was accomplished, he tried to think of ways to become less suspicious, so Hiei wouldn't be so tense around him (He forced himself to believe that the kiss was just a dream.). Suddenly he had an idea, and he quickly ran to the desk, opening all the drawers until he found what he needed.

Youko, who was refusing to look at him, finally got curious and turned around to see what the redhead was doing. "May I inquire why you are producing such noise, little kit?"

Kurama just smirked as he twirled a pen in his fingers, the parchment waiting patiently on the desk. _'I think its time to write Hiei a letter.'_

"A letter," Youko asked raising a questioning brow.

* * *

It was mid afternoon as Yusuke walked slowly behind Hiei. _Very _slowly as he was sore from all the punishment he had endured.

After the incident at the ball, Hiei had forced the other prince to confess his shenanigans concerning his part in getting the redhead intoxicated. After which, Yusuke agreed to take any punishment that Mukuro ordered. The queen only smiled at the honesty, and left all punishments to Genkai.

Yusuke never knew before that day, that such evil existed.

First came repairing the whole ball room, including the walls, floor and ceiling, while wearing seventy pound weights on each arm, and double the amount on his legs. After which, he had to become the artists 'assistant' (slave), who were in charge of repairing the portrait on the ceiling. He had to retrieve their brushes and mix the paints, while spirit cuffs were added to his weights.

As a final punishment, all the repair bills came from his pocket money.

"I swear man; one of the bastards had me mix the paint eight times, just so he could get the perfect shade of rose pink! If I ever see those damned artists again, I'm gonna"-

"Remember to tip them extra!" Hiei said without looking.

"DAMN YOU HIEI!" Yusuke shouted at the shorter prince. It was then that Pu landed on his head, cooing as he did so. "Not now Pu…" He said tensely, not in the mood for his cuter self. The spirit beast only cued affectionately again before looking up. Suddenly its mood did a complete 180 as it freaked out, tugged Yusuke's gelled hair and flew off. "OW! What the"- it was then that Hiei looked just in time to see a load of sheets covered their world.

* * *

Kurama inwardly groaned as he slowly made his way down the stairs, a load of laundry in his arms. He didn't understand why he was being punished for his acts last night as it wasn't his fault; his boss disagreed. Not only was he to do his normal chores, but he had to help the maids with the laundry. Afterwords he'd wash the halls, while somehow keeping up his expectations in the kitchen with his dishes. _'I swear, I have the worst boss in history! Though this has to be partially Yusuke's fault since he forgot to fess up.'_ Kurama glared at the thought of Yusuke chickening out, he thought the prince was better then that. Apparently he was wrong.

Suddenly, the boy's stomached growled loudly, reminding him of his meal he was forced to skip. Never in his life, had he missed breakfast and he was suffering because of it. He swayed in a moment of weakness and bumped into the side of the railings. In that frantic movement he dropped the load over the edge, sending it spiraling on unsuspecting victims. Kurama panicked and looked over the edge, seeing to figures trying to escape the confines of the fabric while Pu cried out, flying around them.

Kurama ran down stairs, jumping over the last 5 flights as he head towards the struggling bundle. He could guess by the constant swearing and the presence of Pu that one of the victims was Yusuke, than the other had to be-

'_Hiei!'_ Kurama thought as he reached for one of the sheets. He tore them off, just in time for his neck to meet Hiei's Katana. There was a tense moment as no one moved; Yusuke had stopped cursing, Pu stopped shrieking, and Hiei had stopped the lung before he skewered the redhead. Green eyes were wide as a bead of sweat made its way past his temple.

Hiei's eyes widened when a drop of blood slid down the pale throat. Vaguely he wondered how he and the redhead kept bumping into each other, despite the difference in their social classes.

After a few more minutes, Kurama slowly lowered his arm, letting the sheets rest on top of the two again before he backed away from his near death experience. Blindly he stumbled as his legs gave out. He rested his back on one of the many pillars before a familiar sound snapped him from his trance.

"Pu~" Kurama stayed still as the bird landed on his head, before he allowed himself a small smile. Gently he took the bird and placed it on his lap, while waiting for the two princes to untangle themselves once again… without his assistance.

"Minamino, what's taking you so long? Get over here?" Kurama's eyes widened before he glared at the end of the hallway. With one last apologetic glance at the two forms under the sheets, he turned off and ran down the hallway, Pu trailing behind.

* * *

Yusuke grumbled again after they got untangled from the blankets. "God damn it Hiei, you didn't have to scare the kid off; I mean he was just trying to help." Yusuke complained as they walked through the halls.

"Shut up detective!" Hiei retorted.

"Grr… I wonder what he was even doing with that laundry. Last time I checked dish washers only had to use the towels to dry, cleaning them was the maid's duty." Yusuke thought out loud.

"Shut up Detective!"

"… He also wasn't looking the best. Not that any one is suppose to look good when they're that close to death but" –

"Shut up Detective!" Hiei hissed again before walking faster. Yusuke glared at the others back before trying to catch up to the smaller one. Upon doing so, he grabbed the fire demon's shoulders and forcefully turned him around. "Okay what's your deal Hiei? I know you're always a cold and heartless bastard, but when I merely mention Shuichi you freak out and want to go on a murder spree."

"I don't 'freak out' detective," Hiei said with an icy glare before swatting away the boy's hands. "And while we're on it; I'm always ready for murder! Do you want to next?"

"What the hell Hiei! What's up with Shuichi that's making you react weirdly?" Hiei's glare suddenly intensified before he disappeared, only to reappear with his katana aiming to cut the other in half. Yusuke gasped as he dodged the well aimed hit, along with all the other strokes that came afterwords. To a normal human the sword was invisible, but to Yusuke it was as clear as his impending doom. Finally, on one of Hiei's down strokes he was able to grab the blade, stopping Hiei's movements for a second. "Damn it Hiei…what the hell did he do?" Yusuke asked concerned.

"…He violated my personal space, and then had the gull to say I owed him one!" Hiei seethed before withdrawing his sword from the boy's hands, and slamming it in his sheath. "I can't stand cocky idiots like him."

Yusuke looked confused before thinking it over… the wheels hadn't been used in a while so it took some time. "But Hiei…I'm a cocky idiot!" He responded, getting a raised eyebrow. "So, why can't you handle Kurama when he's drunk? I mean how much personal space could he have 'intruded' upon?"

Hiei shifted in embarrassment making Yusuke's eyes widened; Hiei only did that when he got seriously embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"Come on, it's not like he kissed ya or anything." Yusuke said with a laugh. He stopped when he saw Hiei growl and look away. "No way; how wasted was he!"

"Enough so apparently that he can't remember," Hiei spat. "Lucky for me."

"Yeah, lucky for him too, I wouldn't want to remember kissing you either." Yusuke said with a laugh but stopped when he felt cold steel against his neck. "It was a joke, I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Yusuke said his voice a bit higher then usual as Hiei let the tip touched his sensitive skin.

"Hn!" Hiei said, not moving the blade away. "Yes, kidding. Especially since it never happened, right detective?" Hiei asked with a murderous smirk.

"Happened? Something happened, what could it be?" Yusuke said fearfully catching on.

"Good idiot…" Hiei cooed as he sheathed his sword again. Once removed, the other sighed and massaged his neck.

'_Maybe he likes me because he likes to control these situations (editor's line XD)…'_ Yusuke thought. "Still, I wonder why he was doing the laundry." He thought out loud. Hiei gave him an exasperated look before sighing.

"Who knows, maybe the news that it was you who unleashed the party crasher hasn't made its way around." He said tiredly. '_Hanging out with this fool can't be good for me; I'm already starting to speak his language after only a dozen years of knowing him. Any longer and my hair might start abiding gravity.'_

"Hey, you might be right! We gotta help him!" Yusuke said dramatically.

"We," Hiei asked. "Why should I help? It has nothing to do with me." Hiei stated. Yusuke just pulled off his famous rat face, and laughed behind his hands.

"Oh I don't know; it's just that idiots have a hard time keeping their lips sealed at times. Things have been known to pop out." With that, Yusuke was once again thankful that looks couldn't kill.

* * *

Kurama glared at his boss as he just droned on about discipline. Pu however, appeared to be confused, as if not able to understand the words coming out of the nerd's mouth (Which was a good possibility actually).

"Discipline separates the level of hierarchy. The serfs, peasants and aristocrats each has a level of discipline, but you out stepped your role yesterday. As the weakest link, the dishwasher, you should have just been proud to stand in the aura of excellence. However blah blee blow yadda yadda crown blob blip bloop- ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?" Kurama nodded his head; facial expression stern, making it look like he cared about his boss's rant. Truthfully however, he wondered what the man's expression would be if he knew that not only was he a prince, but his kingdom was more superior then all the continents combined.

Besides he already got this lecture a long time ago when he was a child. He never liked nor listened to the lecture, but he understood.

"Listen Minamino; the only reason I've kept you employed is because you're good at washing dishes, that's all. However if Queen Mukuro even considered firing you, I'd kick you out faster then you could utter a syllable." Kurama raised an eyebrow at that threat.

'_Not too hard considering I'm a mute_.' He thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Also, now that you've revealed your ability, it's obvious how you could get your chores done so quickly and efficiently. Though I've never seen anyone manipulate water like you, it's clear that you've been using this ability to cleanse the grime from the dishes. However this ability can't help you with other tasks, such as folding and washing the laundry. Therefore I'm going to punish you for a month with these extra chores. With all the time you spend on work, it'll be amazing if you have time for anything else. No lunch today as well. For those who spit in the face of royalty don't deserve the food that they provide." Kaito finished at last.

Although Kurama's face was void of all emotion, inside he was silently raging. Not only was Kaito so high and mighty that he couldn't see that he protected Hiei from a horrible suitor, but he also made the princess confess her crimes of attempted murder and assassination. Sure there were damages, and the party did have to be canceled but Queen Mukuro didn't seem to mind that much. If she had cared, she probably would have had him executed.

Still… the work he might have been able to handle, however the lack of nutrition was getting to him. Without sustenance how could he possibly find the energy to manipulate water, let alone continue his chores for a day? Besides that he gained a nasty temper when he got hungry; the same with any type of man really. If his employer truly meant to make him starve, then he would get a 'say' in this.

"**Pardon my rudeness, but how will starving me solve this predicament. By stopping me from having breakfast, my body is already not at its full capacity. Take away another meal and you might as well let a rag doll do my job." **Kurama explained.

"Well that's just too bad. Maybe you should have considered your stomach before you acted with disobedience." Kaito said with a smirk.

"Or maybe you should get your story straight four eyes!" Kaito's eyes widened and Kurama dropped his hands, unable to respond as Yusuke walked up the halls. "Got it creep; just leave Shuichi alone. It's basically my fault anyway that he smashed the party." He stopped in mid step when he saw a green eyed glare directed at him. "Okay completely my fault. But that doesn't matter right now."

"Lord Yusuke, as touching as it is watching you stand up for this lowly servant; I must protest. If it wasn't for him, lord Hiei-"

"Leave me out of this fool!" Kaito and Kurama whipped their heads around, revealing a black figure leaning casually against the wall. Kaito merely glared at the smaller figure before raising his glasses.

"Lord Hiei if he didn't act upon reckless impulse, then your ball wouldn't have been interrupted. Therefore could have spent more time entertaining your guests and increased your reputation throughout human and demon world." Kaito explained.

"Get real for eyes, Hiei was getting ready to murder the guests if Shuichi hadn't interrupted the party. He probably saved them all just by giving Hiei and Mukuro a show. Now since you were so focused on hierarchy or whatever, I might as well use some of that influence you were blabbering on about earlier." Yusuke said with a smirk. "Now, Minamino won't get punished for anything, and I want to hear you apologize to him, and Pu, for boring them with your crap ass lecture." He said with as much authority he could muster.

"For you to order me around, you'd have to be a ruler of this country. However you're just a guest." Kaito said with a smirk. "In conclusion to this, it means that you have absolutely no power over me."

"You bas-"

"Listen to the Detective," Hiei interrupted, regaining everyone's attention (besides Kurama who never looked away). "Stop hiding behind technicalities and out of date mannerisms. For the record I couldn't have cared less if all those guests burned in a freak fire. The only thing that matters to me is being the strongest and becoming lord of the three worlds."

Kaito gave the lord a calculating look before looking back to Shuichi. "Then shouldn't this boy worry you? He did keep his abilities a secret, and he refuses to reveal the location of his origins. Isn't that suspicious?"

He finally gave Shuichi a glare before turning away. "It's none of my concern. Whatever he is, it isn't an assassin. He doesn't have enough blood on him for that." Hiei said before walking away, leaving Yusuke in charge.

"Yeah four eyes, stop this stupid act. Shuichi you're coming with me; we're getting lunch!" Yusuke exclaimed before dragging the red head off. Kaito had no choice but to hold his tongue and glare at the retreating princes and his employee.

* * *

Hiei glared at the mountain of paperwork that found itself on his desk. He looked at the three stocks of paper he had to sign, before glancing back at his six inch tax report, which still needed to be completed. He had the urge to massage his temples but refused himself the moment of weakness.

'_This day has been one annoyance after another.'_ Hiei found himself thinking. _'First with Yusuke, then I get a bundle of laundry thrown over my head, quickly followed by the biggest loudmouth in the country gaining some blackmail on me, who forced me to save the damned dish washer who put me through hell and back since he got here. If he's not copying my eating style then he's steeling a kiss. Then, I had to share a lunch with him AND Yusuke. This Minamino had better not be the death of me.' _Hiei found himself thinking before he grabbed another piece of plain paper. _'Now I'm stuck on this tax report. I'll just finish it before moving onto the signature work.'_

As Hiei started working, he let his guard down. It wasn't until a cup of tea was placed on his desk did he snap out of his stupor and reacted to the potential threat. With a glance up, he went for his sword, but stopped when he saw who it was.

"What are you doing in here?" He said, his hand staying on his partly unsheathed sword. Green eyes looked down at him and back to the tea. "Speak up Minamino!"

Shuichi smiled nervously, resisting the temptation to scratch his left arm as he got out a pen and paper. After finishing a small message, he placed the note in front of the prince, knowing that the man was ready to decapitate him.

Hiei glanced down at the note, raising a brow.

**After I had enough time to regain my strength and rest in my room, I decided to go exploring. On the way, I ran into Keiko, and noticed that she seemed a bit over worked. After chatting with her, I agreed to help her by bringing your afternoon tea.**

Hiei raised a brow at the explanation but accepted it none the less until finally he let go of his sword. "Well, now that you're finished with your business you can leave." He said, taking a sip of his tea. He raised an eyebrow when the boy offered him a note, rather then picking up the hint in his voice that said 'beat it.'

**Who said anything about being finished? The real reason I took this job is because I wanted to say thank you. **

"Couldn't you have said that at lunch?" Hiei asked.

"**You disappeared before I had the chance." **Hiei grunted in annoyance with the sudden change to sign language. **"I was also getting over my near death experience from earlier, so thank you Hiei for getting me out of that situation."**

Hiei observed the redhead, watching the twitching right hand and slight apprehension in his seaweed green eyes. Finally the young prince relaxed and nodded at the redhead, accepting the courtesy. Shuichi smiled in return. After a brief but comfortable silence, Kurama finally noticed the six inch stack of paper, and reached to pick up a sheet. He stopped and looked at Hiei, as if asking permission. Hiei just went back to work on his report. Shuichi took that as a 'whatever' and picked up the finely organized sheets, before reading them.

'_It's not like he'll understand it anyways. These tax forms are difficult to interpret; he'll probably get bored and leave it after the first paragraph.'_ Hiei thought, noticing the furrowing eyebrows.

What Hiei didn't take notice of, was the rapid movement of Shuichi's eyes, scrutinizing each clause and taking in every punctuation as if he was the editor of a famous writer. He also would have never guessed that the red eyebrows were furrowing with irritation, not confusion. Shuichi quickly picked up the pace, reading through the pages at rapid speed.

Hiei got bemused at the flipping of the pages, but didn't lift his head from his work. He was jolted awake when Shuichi suddenly slammed the document onto his desk with a stern expression aimed towards him.

"**What on earth is this crap?"** Shuichi suddenly asked. Hiei went back to glaring at the redhead. **"What kind of report is this? It's completely unbalanced, with huge holes and writing errors! Haven't you ever done something like this before?"**

Hiei put his hand on his sword before responding. "What would you know about this kind of work anyway? I refuse to be spoken to like that by someone who's under me. Just because Yusuke's an idiot who mingles in with common folk, doesn't mean I am as well. Besides, its better then anything you could ever complete."

Shuichi resisted rolling his eyes, and actually had the guts returned Hiei's glare. "**Is that a challenge, my lord?" **

"Depends on how badly you want to humiliate yourself, dish washer." After a brief moment Shuichi pulled up a chair on the other side of the desk and sat down. He gently reached for a piece of paper, and took out his pen from his pocket. Hiei's eyes widened a fraction before taking his own quill, getting it prepared for the challenge ahead.

'_This is the boldest he's ever been around Hiei, and there's a huge chance that it will end up back firing and send us back to square one. However…' _Youko took a glimpse at the princes from his hiding place (gotta love Shuichi's pockets). _'This is a good opportunity for them to grow more comfortable around each other, and the competition might be a good thing. Hiei doesn't look the type to enjoy the company of imbeciles, so Shuichi's intelligence might make him more interested in my little red head; if he doesn't get turned off by his brash behavior.'_

"At 5:00pm the competition ends. You have until then to try and beat me. Go!" With that, Hiei and Shuichi started writing. Although Shuichi's printing was still a bit scratchy, but he was still a fast writer and used the first page as notes to organize his thoughts. Even though Hiei's report was mixed up, it did give the prince a feel on what the country was really like, and allowed him to consider a plan for the island based country. Meanwhile, Hiei just started working on his ending for his report.

When ever Hiei looked up,Shuichi always seemed to have finished a page. Although the speed was unexpected, he was more worried about the quality of the work. Because of this, he often took small glances at the red head's work, and each time, he was both surprised and impressed with the red head's thoughts. It also fueled his competitive spirit, and made him strive to defeat his new rival. If there was one thing Hiei didn't know, it was defeat.

Shuichi was also working hard on his report, never once looking up at Hiei. Still, he once in a while felt eyes on him, but tried not to match them. This was a test of wills and knowledge, and he would be damned if he lost to Hiei. Love or no love, Shuichi had pride in his tax abilities, and he wouldn't lose to the likes of some beginner.

They continued on like that for a while, both forgetting the timer and drowning in the challenge. It wasn't till Shuichi noticed that Hiei's quill stopped moving that he dared to take a peak at his smaller love. He almost laughed when he saw Hiei, and realized the problem. _'He's stumped.'_

It was true; Hiei was still new to this sort of formal write out, and found that the more he tried to concentrate, the less he could think of any solutions for any of his problems. After a while, he tried to stop and reread what he wrote, only to find that he couldn't think of anything else to write.

"_I can't really be done this, can I?'_ Hiei asked himself before glancing at the ten pages he had just completed. _'No, there has to be more, I just can't stop now when I'm so close'_ He thought with gritted teeth. When he glanced up again he saw the seaweed green eyes looking back at him, far too smug for Hiei's liking. "What," he asked impatiently.

Shuichi just smiled back, before shrugging. He finished another page before writing a quick note before going back to his work. Hiei gave another glare at the redhead before moving his gaze to the note. He picked it up before reading it, and then looked cynically at it before returning his eyes to the redhead.

"What do you mean add up the pricing on housing mortgage or rent?" Hiei demanded. Shuichi looked up and _slowly_ stretched his arms before answering in sign language.

"**I mean it's hard to pay hydro, electric and the HST if you can't afford your mortgage."** Shuichi explained. He noticed Hiei's blank stare before he wrote the whole message down for him. He had to remember that Hiei's comprehension of sign language was at a completely different level then his. Hiei's eyes actually widened a bit as he checked over his report. "**You mean you didn't think about that earlier?"**

"Shut up Minamino!" Hiei said as he started scratching some of his report out and writing over it. _'I'm just glad this is a rough copyl.'_ Hiei thought to himself. He looked back up at Shuichi who was simply smiling at him. "What is it now?

Shuichi just shook his head and started writing some more of his own report. Hiei watched him for a while before returning to his own work.

From there on, the competitive aura that surrounded them thinned, into a more relaxed and compatible silence. From time to time, Hiei would get stuck on another topic, and Shuichi would just leave him some hints for Hiei to figure out and get back to his report. Both of them just relaxed into this pattern for a while and for the first time while working on this report, Hiei actually felt calm.

It wasn't until the buzzer rang while Shuichi was mentioning something to Hiei that they realized how much time had passed. Hiei almost fell like sighing in annoyance as his work was interrupted. "Just ignore it, we're almost done anyways." Hiei said as he turned off the clock and returned his gaze downwards. Shuichi at first was shocked by the suggestion, but went along with it immediately with a secret smile on his face. He'd be damned before he left Hiei's side when the stubborn prince actually desired his company.

* * *

Inside the castle was a room hardly anyone knew about, and fewer who had the jurisdiction to enter legally. That room was Suzuki's main laboratory, full of heinous but powerful inventions, most made to enhance Mukuro's army. As it was very unusual for him to have any visitors, Suzuki was mildly amused when he heard a knock on the door.

"Who dares to interrupt my genius?" He yelled as the door slowly opened. He raised his eye brow and chuckled when her majesties adviser appeared. "Ah, Urashima-chan; what brings you to my halls of wonder?"

'_Halls of wasted money in my opinion.'_ Was what the smaller man thought. "Just coming to check on some of your more recent inventions; Mukuro gets tired of waiting after all. She also wishes to know the progress on those dumplings you've reacquired."

"Oh, those things." Suzuki said, seemingly bored. "I've got the materials compiled, but have all but scrapped the project."

"WHAT!" Urashime yelled, outraged. "That device was outstanding! It gave unspeakable power to the user, and made him or her resistant to the opponent's attacks. Why on earth would you scrap it?"

"It's useless to the army. Each dumpling must be specifically adjusted for each body type, attribute, and make up for it to be absorbed and digested properly. There also has to be a proper chemical reaction within the body, or the effects become deadly. From the test subjects I acquired, it appears that most symptoms if applied incorrectly include shredded organs, clogged liver, exploding and/or imploding bodies." Suzuki explained. "Trust me; scrapping it and using the funds towards my new project will be much more enjoyable, and realistic."

"Okay, and what would this 'new project be -'"

"Let me just ask you a question first; have you ever heard of 'the time ebb flower."

* * *

Hiei finally put down. There was a big sigh heard as Shuichi stretched the kinks out of his back. It was the first time that he had sat in place for so long.

'_It's finally over.' _Hiei thought, straightening the documents and using a special wipe to wash the ink off his hands (made by Suzuki of course). _'Its taken me forever, but I can finally say that this stupid tax report is finally finished!' _Hiei opened his eyes, to reveal a smiling red head, resting his head on his own document. After a second, the charming smile filled with mirth, as he tilted his head slightly on his work.

"You do realize I won right Minamino." Hiei stated, making the redhead glare at him.

**"What, you're so cocky my lord that you don't ****even ****think you need to read it."** Shuichi challenged, making the fire demon smirk.

"No, I just know that its incomplete. Even a beginner knows that it takes at least a month to complete a final report." Hiei stated, enjoying the sulking redhead.

_'Two months in my country.'_ Shuichi thought darkly, forgetting the small detail. He knew his own report wasn't finished, but at the same time, he had completed a lot of work in his short time. _'Though to be fair he never said I had to finish.'_ Instead of informing the prince though, he simply held up his hands in surrender and smiled. **"Fine, you win this round lord Hiei."**

Hiei just grunted and looked away. Glancing at the clock in the process.

"Aren't you late for work?"

The reaction was instant; two fists landing on the table trying to see the clock better before panicked eyes froze and turned around, heading towards the exit in a hurry. He would have slammed the doors open, but at the last moment he felt something coming at him and his hand went to the back of his head to grasp the small missile. A brief flash of confusion ran over his face as he stared at the small lump of paper in front of him. He looked over to Hiei to ask what it was about, but only received silence. Sighing, the redhead turned to leave.

"Give that to Kaito if you want him to shut up."

Shuichi paused briefly, his hand on the door handle and his back to the demon lord. Quickly, a small smile made its way to his his facial features before he left. He did not thank the young lord as he probably had enough of Shuichi's gratitude for one day.

Hiei watched from the corner of his eye as the red head left. it was only when the the boy left his view did the intruding voice return.

_'__Well, that seemed like fun._' it said, not surprising Hiei in the slightest.

_'What do you want you coward._' Hiei snapped, having enough of the intrudion.

_'Coward? It seems you misunderstand my intent. It's not my fault that you can't see what's right in front of you. Besides, if I could have,I would have met with you by now; Hiei-chan.'_

Hiei saw red at the statement, but kept his anger in check._ 'Just leave me alone already; unless you prefer being skinned alive.'_

A laugh interrupted his thoughts._ 'Trust me little one, there's not enough of me left to skin."_ Hiei's eyes rose at this comment, but he didn't question. _"Still it was an interesting battle of wits. Hopefully you reward little red properly for the help you received." _

With that last note, Hiei felt the connection break. He gritted his teeth in anger, and brought his hand to his head, gripping the ward in a vice grip before stopping himself. Releasing the Jagan would be both reckless and dangerous. Besides with the connection broken, it would be unlikely he would find the perpetrator who continually sought him anyways. Taking a break, he attempted to cool down, only to hear an annoying tapping noise. Feeling his final nerve snap, he slammed open the window and was about to go for his katana, when a familiar screech stopped him. Looking straight at his prey, he felt his rage disappear at the terrified face in front of him.

"P-p-p-...Pu~" The poor beast said as it fainted in mid air.

Hiei quickly reached out and caught the bird by its ears. "What the hell are you doing here."

The bird said nothing and Hiei sighed before dropping it on his desk, making sure it didn't hurt itself further. He was about to sit down when his eyes widened in shock as he saw something attached to Pu's feet. It was a letter, with the same neat hand writing he had grown accustomed to.

"Kurama," He whispered before untying the letter from the bird's leg. He was about to read it when he realized the parchment was different then usual. Before, the paper had an almost rubbery texture that made it appear water proof, while now it was just plain paper and pen. Moving on from the unusual materials (from Kurama that is), Hiei gently unraveled the paper and began reading that nicely formed hand writing he had come to get use to.

**Hello Hiei-kun**

**Are you doing well? If not then rejoice for I am. Though recently I've had new... developments that had halted me from writing. However, now that I've finally caught my first taste of fresh air in along time, I can finally start writing again. Now, I know there's usually a clue that forces you to read through the lines and make a guess, but not today. Instead, I'll tell you something far more interesting. I've recently found a place that's closer to you. One might say its just under your chin (or was it tongue? I can never remember all your human sayings). Unfortunately, its only temporary so I'm only staying a week. However, if you can find me, without searching for me, I'll come clean and tell you everything. Either that, or you can guess as usual. You still have three tries, and you'll probably need them considering I'll never openly reveal myself to you. Use your head, and not your eyes (that includes all three you cheater) and come find me. Until then I'll be right in front of you waiting.**

**Your pen pal,  
Kurama**


End file.
